Perfect Match
by xlyphiechanx
Summary: Just when I don't think I can take this pain anymore, numbness overcomes me. Regaining control never felt so good. (Naruto x Sakura) Modern AU.
1. Chapter 1

For some reason I haven't been able to sleep at night. I've always been a big boy, little bruises never affected me and being physically active was never a problem. But today I was out of breath when I walked down the stairs. At dinner time when I didn't finish my ramen, my parents knew there was a problem.

And now I guess I'll find out what it is.

I'm stuck sitting in a saggy barf green chair in a clinic, waiting three hundred years for my name to be called. Even though the room is open sand brightly lit, it feels suffocatingly small. I lean my head back to ease the headache that's slowly creeping in. My dad gives me a worried glance and I can almost hear his voice saying _Are you okay? _I give him a small reassuring smile. Gosh since when did it hurt to smile. I start to tap my fingers on the handle of the seat. This is taking _forever._ I am about to get up and excuse myself to the restroom when the door creeks open. The nurse in clean white attire takes a moment to observe the waiting room before she looks at her clipboard, and finally calls my name. "Naruto Uzumaki?"

My mom helps me get up and gives me a small pat on the back. I walk towards the nurse trying my hardest to avoid eye contact. "Follow me." She says giving me a generic smile. I enter a crammed hallway and do as she says. The stench of medicine hits my nostrils. Hard. I never liked the doctor's office, even when my mom took me to get a flu shot, I always dreaded it. Just the thought of a doctor's office made me cringe.

The nurse ushers my parents and me to the last door in the tiny corridor, and I feel like I'm never coming back. The door creeks so loudly it reminds me of a dungeon. The walls are covered in childish wallpaper that resemble dinosaurs at the beach. I guess they are to cheer up the patients, but dinosaurs at the beach won't make my headache go away. Overall, the space is small. I sit down on the bed trying my best not to wrinkle the paper, but fail miserably. My parents take a seat to the left of me, in the same barf green chairs that are in the waiting room. "The doctor will be here in a second." The nurse quietly whimpers as she exits the room.

"Honey, calm down. I bet it's just the flu." My mom says relaxingly. "They'll check you out and you'll be fine."

"Yeah I know dad but are they gonna stick a needle in me or maybe shove a stick down my throat?"

"These doctors are professionals just calm down." My dad snaps.

I flinch a little. My mom shoots me a look and I know I have to sit still and act patient. But it's so _hard. _ The room begins to feel small and the constant _tik tok_ of the clock isn't helping my headache. I lean back on the palms of my hands hanging my head in defeat. This headache is slowly getting worse and I just want to go home.

"Naruto Uzumaki, yes?" I don't even bother to meet her gaze as I give her a small grunt. I can literally_ hear_ my dad shaking his head. I sneak a peek at the doctor, at least she looks professional. She does her little routine. Heartbeat, check. Weight, check. Me gagging the stick up, check. The last thing she does is take a blood sample. "You will be getting the results of the sample in about two to five days. We just want to make sure everything is alright, and it never hurts to be too careful." "And what does he have?" my mom inquires. "My guess would be a simple cold." The doctor responds. My dad does this whole speech where he thanks her for her services, while my mom and I slowly slip out of the scene.

On the car ride home my mom turns around asks me what I'll be wearing for the first day of school tomorrow.

"Wait its tomorrow?"

_Three days later_

I drop my school bag on the floor and faceplant onto the coach. My mom pops into the living room from the kitchen.

"How was school, honey?"

"AhhhhhHHHHhh."

I can hear my dad laughing in the other room.

"Don't believe me? I have three projects due next week. Sophomore year sucks."

"How hard can it be?"

I ponder over the question as I rub my chin with my hand.

"Pretty hard if your teacher is late for class and falls asleep with a book over his eyes."

My mom rolls her eyes. Before she can say another word, our conversation is interrupted by a violent ringing coming from the kitchen. I hear my dad mumble as he grabs the phone. I roll over on my stomach and close my eyes. Stupid business calls, he'll be at it for hours.

"Hello?"

"Yes, this is Minato speaking."

"Uh-huh, okay…wait. You're sure this is our son?"

"You've got to be kidding me."

"Okay, thank you goodbye."

My dad slams the phone down. Ouch. Thanks dad, I've had a raging headache for three days now. Can you not.

"Naruto, Kushina. Family meeting, now."

I let go of a breath I didn't know I was holding. As I take a seat in the kitchen, I have no idea what to expect. My dad wastes no time and begins to explain.

"I just got off the phone with the nurse."

There's a long pause.

"Naruto from that blood sample they found a few…a lot…well…they found cancer cells. They say you're diagnosed with a form of Leukemia, i-it's bone cancer."

My mom gasps.

"Cancer? Me?" N-no teenagers don't _get_ cancer. I have my whole life ahead of me. Does that mean I can't try out for the soccer team, ask out the girl of my dreams, go to prom? Does this mean I can't live my life anymore? Does this mean that I'm gonna…

"Am I going to die?"

My mom gets up and aimlessly walks to her room. My mind wanders again. People die of cancer. It has no known cure! Am I able to compete in soccer this year?

My dad grabs my attention.

"Listen Naruto, I'm going to schedule an appointment for you tomorrow to get all of the details. Are you feeling okay? Do you feel hungry? Do you want me to fix you something to eat? Maybe you're tired? Maybe…"

Oh no. Dads going into his overprotective mod. Better back out.

"I'm fine. I'll go do my homework now."I say as a hook my bag over my shoulder.

Out of the kitchen, into our well furnished living room and when I'm halfway up the stairs, my dad calls out:

"Oh, and Naruto don't even think about going to school tomorrow."

Welcome to the beginning of the end of my life.


	2. Chapter 2

3:30 am and I'm still awake. I'm dying. _Dying._ What's going to happen to me now? I've watched those cancer videos in Wellness class as freshman. Usually they start out fine you know, doing those cancer walk things, going to do chemo once a week, and living a normal life. And then by the end of the movie they're sitting bald, I repeat _bald, _in a hospital bed with an IV in their arm and they know they're dying. Any minute now and they pass from one world to the next. Parents are crying holding their hands. Friends are standing around the bed with their shoulders slumped and their heads in their hands. Crying, saying their last goodbyes. Is that going to happen to me? I don't want to die that way. I don't want a stupid disease to kill me. I'll die before my parents. What are they going to do without me? My mom already looked pretty destroyed after just hearing the news.

Am I going to die without a fight? I mean I'm no expert, but one cannot simply fight with cancer and expect to win. Will Sasuke beat me after all? He's always beat me in grades and physical activities. In popularity, well just in everything. Will he beat me in _living_? Once I die will he win over Hinata and they'll just forget about me? Will that be my mark? Will I get the time to make a mark? I've always wanted to go sky diving, explore the world, get married, for goodness sakes get through sophomore year! Will I even live to my next birthday?

I barely get any sleep that night.

* * *

Seriously 7 am? My dad couldn't have booked an earlier appointment? My breakfast consists of a granola bar being shoved down my throat while running to the car because knowing my dad he'll find the one crumb that'll fall and I won't hear the end of it.

I walk into an elaborate hospital waiting room and choose a seat closest to the TV. My dad follows. The room is sickening white. I'm not really a morning person so when I hear the birds chirping, I slouch. I hear my stomach grumble and look down. Wait. Are those crumbs on my shirt? They are! I lick my fingers and start to gather all the delicious strawberry granola bar crumbs off my shirt.

"Naruto don't lick your fingers you'll get sick."

Really?

"Dad I'm dying anyways what will a little germ do?" I mumble as I make a dramatic display of licking my fingers.

My dad's face turns into the color of my mom's hair. Shoot I've really done it now. He sits a little straighter and leans into my face.

"Listen here Naru-"

The door opens, saving me from a scolding.

"Good morning! Umm, Naruto Uzumaki. Right this way!"

I don't like her. When you're that happy at seven in the morning, there is definitely something wrong with you.

I make my way into the brightly lit hallway and start to follow the doctor.

"I'm doctor Tsunade," she explains,"but patients call me Lady Tsunade."

"Will Granny do?"

There's that vein pop.

"Naruto please." My dad interjects.

"Just trying to lighten the mood. Sheesh dad."

We walk into another room and I make my way towards the bed. As I sit down, Granny positions herself in between my dad and me. She takes a deep breath starts explaining all this gibberish. I really wasn't paying attention but I heard something along the lines of Acute Leukemia, Chemo Therapy, and free snacks in the lunch room.

"That's about all you need to kn-"

"How long do I have?"

All eyes turn on me.

"Naru-"

"No dad. I want to know. How long Granny?"

She turns over the slip of paper she's holding and then scans the paper.

"Well, we aren't sure how long you will live, but no worries Naruto. I am sure the Chemo Therapy will do you wonders."

She smiles at me and looks back at my father.

"We will see you bright and early Friday morning for the Chemo treatment."

"What about school?! You can't just stop me from going?"

No way. I have to go to school. I want to have a life.

"Well, if need be we can schedule a later appointment. It would be best to start sooner than later Naruto. You see, Acute Leukemia is rapid. The growth of cancer cells is quick meaning that if we don't do something soon you'll die within six weeks. And so we want to start the treatment as fast as possible. You know, you're lucky you got diagnosed so quickly, wait another week and there might have been no hope for you."

No hope for me?

I can't feel my legs and suddenly my breathing quickens. _No Hope._

"Naruto? Naruto!"

It's all blur from there.

* * *

I never liked history, can't say that I hate it, it just doesn't interest me. But history with Kakashi Hatake is a living nightmare. He's just so _boring._ The way he talks puts me to sleep.

"Naruto, pay attention. Now, would you like to answer my question?"

It was more of a command then a question.

"Um, what was the question?"

I see Sasuke's hand shoot up.

"Exactly." Kakashi scans the room, "Hm how about you Sasuke?"

I grit my teeth. Of course Sasuke has the answer.

"Well, since I was paying attention it's an easy answer. World War II started in 1939."

He smirks and looks over at me.

"But Naruto wouldn't know that, would you?"

My classmates snicker and laugh at me. He always does this, waiting for an opportunity to embarrass me. And in front of Hinata too? Give me a break.

It's always been like this, ever since freshman year. Sasuke makes everything into a competition. We used to be the best of friends back in middle school. Always hanging out, making jokes, pulling pranks on the teacher…man it was a blast. But ever since we both hit high school, it all went downhill. He got caught up in popularity. I remember him telling me that we were going to become the "kings" of high school and by senior year everyone would bow down to us. We'd be the coolest kids in school and people would kill to be our friends. We'd be inseparable. But, by the second week of high school he did the unexpected. He knew very well that I had a huge crush on Hinata Hyuga. Ever since third grade I'd been crushing on her. I mean who wouldn't? She was pretty, smart, and probably the nicest girl in our grade. Sasuke promised me that he would hook us up in high school. We had this whole plan and everything. But what do you know. On my way to gym class during my freshman year, I saw them. Hinata pinned against the wall, Sasuke running his filthy fingers through her hair, as they were sucking on each other's faces. I remember Sasuke pulling away from her and looking at me.

"Guess I win this one Uzumaki."

That was the last time I ever talked to Sasuke Uchiha.

_Riiiiinnnnggg_

"Don't forget about your projects due on Monday, class."

I get out of my seat trying my best not to just give up and collapse. My head is killing me and I don't know how much longer I can last. I skipped breakfast because I'd just throw everything back up. But I'd rather vomit then have my stomach eat itself.

Shoot. It's only the end of first period and I already feel like crap. I gather my bag and sling it over my shoulder. I make my way into the hallway and try to steady my breathes. My vision feels hazy as I slowly move my head side to side, walking towards the bathroom. My breathing increases and black dots glaze over my eyes. I place a clammy hand over my right eye and quicken my pace to the restroom.

I weakly heave the door open and rush to the sink. The stickiness and clamminess of my hands washes away under the cold water. I squirt a generous amount of hand soap and sniff up the scent. It's better sniffing soap that smells like laundry detergent than…well you could imagine what a boy's school bathroom smells like.

"Hey look who it is. Naruto Uzumaki!"

I quickly get my nose out of my hands and throw them into the water that's coming from the faucet.

"Kiba? Hey long time no see man!"

Well, actually I saw him last week, but I feel like saying that was cooler.

"Yeah I guess so. Well anyways what class do you have next?"

Phew. He doesn't bother asking what I was doing. Maybe he gets it that it reeks in here. But my real concern is that does he really think I memorized my schedule? I dry my hands and rummage through my backpack to find my schedule.

"Biology. And you?"

"Cardio Fitness. Something like that."

"Cool, well I'll see you around I better get going."

"Yeah, and I'll see you at soccer tryouts. Have fun in Bio!"

I grit my teeth and head for my next class with a pounding headache. Could this day get any worse?

* * *

"Absolutely not."

Yup, it just got a whole lot worse.

"But dad!"

"Naruto listen to your father. He's right. If you were to try out for soccer you wouldn't even be able to play at your first game, let alone try out. Those drills and exercises would leave you wiped out. "

"But mom, I feel perfectly fine. At least let my tryout. If I don't feel good I won't go to the second day. Please?"

I feel bad lying, but if I don't tryout I won't hear the end of it from Sasuke and his stupid group of friends.

"Naruto, you can let go of one season of soccer and-"

"This could be my last season dad. What if I don't live til next season."

The room goes silent. My dad stops eating his dinner and my mom begins to get up. I feel like whenever I mention my death or anything to do with my cancer she leaves and doesn't want anything to do with it. Actually ever since we found out the other day my mom's been avoiding the topic. The sound of dishes being washed is the only thing that is heard at the dinner table. Once my mom retreats to her room my dad sighs.

"Are you sure you feel up to it?"

Wait, is he seriously going to let me tryout?

"Of course. Dad if I didn't feel good I wouldn't even want to tryout."

It's just a small lie. They'll never find out.

"Well, I…I guess, if you really feel up to it I won't stop you. But Naruto promise me this."

He takes a long breath and exhales almost as if he's not sure why he's doing this himself.

"If you ever feel sick, and I mean it could be just for a few seconds that your headache comes back or you begin to just…well, anything that makes you feel sick during tryouts, immediately call me and I will come pick you up. Please promise me this."

Did he seriously just agree to this?

"Of course."

"Naruto what day are tryouts?"

"Monday."

He smiles at me and stands up to go wash his plate. I follow and begin to do the same.

"It's okay. I can wash your plate. Why don't you go do your homework or get some rest?"

"Okay, thanks."

I can't even concentrate on my homework. All I can think about is how I'm going to pull off soccer tryouts with a headache like this. Scratch that. Make that a headache and an empty stomach. I hurry to the bathroom and throw up my dinner.

* * *

_Friday_

My second day of gym is today. The day we actually get up and move around. I'm screwed.

I strip of my school clothes and throw on a bright orange tee-shirt and black basketball shorts. As I'm tying my shoes most of the boys have already headed out of the locker room. Great, I'll be late on my first real day of gym class. I tie my shoes sloppily and rush out.

"Uchiha Sasuke?"

"Here."

"Uzumaki Naru-"

I run out onto the field panting and already feeling my stomach twist. Good thing I skipped lunch.

"Here I'm sorry for being la-."

Before I can finish I trip over my shoelaces. The impact from the fall worsens my headache and soon enough I'm panting even harder.

As usual the boys snicker and the girls all roll their eyes. The teacher doesn't even bother to look up from the clipboard as I make my way to stand near the rest of the class.

"No you made it just in time Naruto."

So, I guess today as a fun activity we're playing trust games. And guess who has no friends in that class. Me you say? Well you're a good guesser.

"I want to be with Sasuke!"

Of course Ino is the first one to shout that. She's had this stupid crush on him ever since, well birth I guess. Sasuke just does his usual grunt and walks over to his _new_ best friend, Suigetsu.

"Ino, if you haven't noticed Sasuke has a girlfriend."

Everyone looks at Sai. He really knows how to make the situation more awkward. Ino just shuts down and waves him off.

"Yeah, I know you dimwit. But that doesn't mean I'm forbidden from being his partner."

"Well it would imply that you two like each other. Therefore wouldn't Hinata be jealous?"

Ino is beginning to turn red, and I swear there's smoke coming out of her ears.

"Shut up! I just wanted to be his partner that's it! You don't have to go off saying those things. Of course I don't like him that way. We're just…"

The whistle blows.

"Okay class. Time is up for finding a partner. Who still has no partner?"

I raise my hand and so does half of the class. Yamato Sensei sighs. In the end Ino gets paired up with Sai. Poor guy, hopefully he won't end up dead. I end up with Deidara.

"If you drop me I'll blow you into bits."

Sweet job Yamato. You paired me up with one of Sasuke's dumb friends who hates my guts. What a great way to end my school day.

"Sure."

We do the simple trust falls first. Obviously, to keep my face from being pulverized, I catch Deidara. And to my surprise he catches me. I swear if he dropped my I might have died. My headache is so bad that my vision is getting blurry.

"You're pretty heavy Uzumaki get off of me now."

I can't even talk. Everything is starting to turn black and my legs won't move.

"Hey! Did you hear me? Get off!"

He throws me off of him and I land on the ground face first with a thud. I think I don't move for a good few minutes. People begin to get worried. Shoot. I don't want to make a scene.

"Are you ok? Hn, are you dead?"

Never would I have thought that getting up would be so difficult. I manage to get up, just barely, and once I'm up I bolt for the locker room. Well, I guess my bolt was more of a walk that a drunken person would do, but it took a lot of energy so I'm going to count it as running. The best part was that I didn't even see anyone follow me or call out my name. Whatever, I don't need their help.

I splash cold water on my face and look into the mirror. Is this how I'm going to feel every day? I lean my hands on the sink and take deep breaths.

"Naruto? Are you in here?"

Oh no. If someone sees me like this, there will be questions!

"Hello?"

What do I do? What do I do?! Think fast Uzumaki!

I manage to pull myself into a stall without falling. I hear footsteps in the bathroom as I stand on the toilet literally shaking. I'm not scared, just that sudden outburst to get into the bathroom stall was a lot harder than I thought and I'm trying not to pass out.

"Darn, where the heck did he go?"

The person makes his way to the door and I hear it slam shut. I slowly get off of the toilet and collapse. I'm sweating from head to toe and panting like I just ran a marathon. Is this what dying feels like? No. I'm not going to die here over some pathetic headache. I grab the stall handle and manage to get myself up. I make my way to my backpack and grab my water. Like all those professional athletes, I pour open up my water bottle and pour it all over myself. It's a sudden relief and it gives me the strength to call my dad and get the heck out of school.

"Naruto are you ok?"

My dad's freaking out as he's trying to lug me into the car. I have no energy to even begin arguing that I feel fine. I give him a small nod before I lean my head downwards and throw up foam all over the concrete.

"We're going to the hospital right now to start your Chemo. I don't even care if your appointment is in an hour."

He gently lays me down in the back seat of the car. I hear him unzip his jacket and I'm guessing it's placed under my head. I fall asleep in a matter of seconds.


	3. Chapter 3

"Naruto, please try to be patient the doctor will be here soon okay? You can stop tapping your foot it's giving me a headache."

I can't help it. We've been waiting for twenty minutes.

After my "episode" my dad ended up bringing me to the hospital. Thankfully, my headache wasn't as bad so I managed to get up and actually walk to the hospital after being forced to swallow four pills of Advil. Thankfully those managed to stay in my stomach.

I scan the waiting room. There's a vending machine in the corner and a few of those little kid toys are scattered to the left of it. Some kid is sleeping on his moms lap. A guy that looks drunk passed out in the corner. Interesting. I keep scanning the room until I see this guy with blood red hair and pale skin. His whole face is covered in what seems like burns and he seems to have some weird tattoo on his forehead. His shoulder is all bloody and his clothes seem torn. But if you don't think that's weird get this. He has no eyebrows. That's some fashion statement. Suddenly his head whips towards me and his eyes meet mine. It's like looking at ice. I shiver almost immediately and avert my gaze.

Did he see me looking at him? I should be careful around that guy. He seems pretty scary.

"Naruto Uzumaki?"

As I'm walking towards the nurse I can feel the redhead's gaze follow my every move. I make a mental note to ask the doctor about him later. The nurse leads us to a room and she directs me to go change into a gown. Excuse me?

"I'm not a girl."

My dad face palms in the background.

"Sir, you have to only wear your underwear and then you put the gown over yourself."

What sick joke is this?

"I don't really feel comfortable doing that."

"But sir, it's something that all patients do. Trust me we no one here will judge you for wearing a _hospital_ gown."

"But-"

"I'll make sure he puts it on before the doctor comes in. Thank you."

Thanks dad. You're going to make me dress like a girl.

The nurse quickly rushes out and I turn towards my dad who's holding the blue and white flower patterned gown. I can read it in his face that he's really enjoying this.

"Come on dad you're not actually going to make me wear that?"

"Of course not Naruto."

Phew! I start to relax when suddenly there is a gown over my head and I'm choking on air. My dad slips it on in one swift movement and I stand there feeling totally betrayed. The clothes under the gown make it hard for me to move around and I'm pretty sure I look like an oversized potato.

"DAD!"

He's trying so hard not to laugh his face turns a light shade of red. His lip is twitching and he's trying not to look at me. To make things even more embarrassing the stupid doctor strolls in.

"I'm coming i-"

She stops once she sees me and slowly begins to close the door. I turn beat red and run to the bathroom. Why me?

After sorting out my potato problem, I'm hooked up to an IV wearing a hospital gown. Yikes.

"So why am I dressed up in this? Can't you do the Chemo without this dumb gown?"

Don't tell me that I'm-

"You will be staying here for the week. It is better for you to stay in the gown since it is easier for you to move around in it, and it's easier to change out of since you will be wearing a new one I'm guessing everyday? You don't want to smell bad. Also, in order to decrease the count of cancer cells in your bloodstream we will be giving you chemo 3 times in the course of the week. It is better for you to stay here, in the hospital, because I will be able to monitor how you are doing and make sure that no problems are occurring."

"What?! No you can't do that please. You don't understand I have soccer tryouts this week and I-"

"Soccer tryouts? You were going to tryout for soccer? Are you insane? With your current condition you shouldn't even be taking a walk around your neighborhood."

Is this doctor even trustworthy?

"You make people call you _Lady_ Tsunade. Is it really ok to put my life in your hands Granny?"

That vein pop was bigger than the last one I gave her when we first met…oh no.

"Listen you."

She gets right in my face.

"Your father personally hired me so that I could get your sorry butt cured because I'm the best doctor around. People come to me for help with incurable diseases and somehow I'm always able to fix them up. No patient has ever died on me. _Ever._"

I gulp. Man she's really scary.

Granny straightens up and fixes her posture. She looks at my father and gives him an apologetic look for scaring his son. My dad just nods.

"Lady Tsunade. Will I able to stay the night with my son? "

I groan. My dad looks at me. When our eyes meet I wish I had never even groaned. He looks so…so scared. A-are those tears in his eyes?

"Unfortunately Minato, visitors are not allowed in these parts of the hospital over the weekend. But, I assure you Naruto is in good hands."

"I understand. Tsunade could you leave us alone just for a bit?"

"Of course. Visting hours end at 9 o'clock. Take your time. And Naruto, your chemo starts in a few hours."

She smiles at both of us and exits the room.

My dad pulls a chair over to my bed.

"Naruto how are the headaches? Do you need any water anything? What about-"

"Dad I'm okay, I promise."

He rubs his temples and sighs.

"Dad, you don't have to worry so much. I'll..I'll be fine. Granny even said it herself. Even if I do die you and mom will be-"

I'm enveloped in a hug and I can't say another word. My dad hugs me so gently that it feels like he's not even touching me. He rests his chin on my head. My dad hasn't hugged me like this in a long time; he only really hugged me like this when I was young, like really young.

"Don't say that Naruto. Please."

I can hear it in his voice. He's crying. Darn it dad now I'm going to cry. I feel tears prickling in my eyes. I force them back. I will not cry in front of my dad, that's just…no. I reach my arms up and hug him back.

"I'm sorry dad. I'll be more careful with what I say."

He chuckles, knowing that I'm never careful. He releases the hug and sits on the bed facing me.

"Hey dad, I have a question."

"What's up kiddo?"

"Why does mom act so weird whenever we bring up my cancer?"

I can see my dad is uneasy about the question. He takes a deep breath, running his hands through his hair.

"Well, your mother just doesn't know how to handle it. Naruto, she's very torn about the fact that you're so sick and she feels useless knowing that she can't do anything to help you. Just give her time. Okay?"

She probably thinks I'm going to die any minute and doesn't want to accept the fact that I'm a time bomb. One wrong move and I'll explode.

"Okay."

My dad wraps his arms around me and we just sit there for a long time. I cry in his shoulder, I cry not because I'm dying, but the fact that there's a chance of leaving them behind.

"Shh, it's okay."

He rubs my back and rocks me back and forth until I calm down. It's so nice having my dad around. I don't know what I'd do without him.

After what seems like hours my dad decides to go home.

"Naruto, I'm going now but if anything happens and you need me or your mom, call us immediately okay?"

"Okay."

He bends down and kisses my forehead.

"I love you Naruto, see you soon."

"Love you too dad."

I pretty much mumbled that in embarrassment. I hear him chuckling in the hallway.

* * *

_5 pm._

Granny comes in with a sac, a cord, a needle, and the scent of medicine overpowers the room.

"Okay, Naruto your Chemo starts now. This bag contains the drug necessary to kill your cancer. Now hold still while I inject a needle in your arm."

I was never a fan of needles so the part where the needle DUG INTO MY FLESH was a little uncomfortable.

"Now that just sits in your arm for about an hour. Don't move around too much. You can use your phone to preoccupy yourself or switch on the T.V. A nurse is bringing up dinner soon."

"Okay, cool."

Wait a minute. Chemo kills cancer. Chemo can kill me. Chemo makes me bald.

Chemo. Makes. Me. Bald.

"GET THE NEEDLE OUT OF MY ARM! I DON'T WANNA BE BALD! I LOVE MY HAIR IT'S PART OF MY IDENTITY! YOU CAN'T TAKE THAT FROM ME! YO GRANNY IMMA CUT THE CORD IF YOU DON'T!"

Granny runs back into the room.

"Naruto calm down! Don't move, don't be rash, please just calm down!"

She pins my arms down and I stop struggling. I'm panting and freaking out. I can't go bald.

"Naruto, you're not going bald…not yet. But! Before you start yelling at me, there are plenty of wigs out there that can cover up your bald head. We'll find you the perfect one I promise okay?"

This isn't happening.

"Now please, let the Chemo do its job and just don't move."

I nod my head slowly as she exits the room. If I go bald, I'll be the talk of the school and everyone will know I have cancer.

I'm screwed.

* * *

_1:00 am._

I wake up panting and suddenly the dinner I ate is coming back up. I don't even get a chance to make it to the bathroom before I'm covered in my own vomit. Clutching my stomach I race to the bathroom. My hands are shaking as I clutch the sides of the toilet bowl and vomit up the rest. I keep the position for what seems like forever. It just won't stop. Granny said something like this is normal after Chemo. "Throwing up is expected, but don't worry, it's not that bad." She said. Not that bad huh, how about having your insides peeled out alive, it's almost the same thing.

By the time I finally calm down, the taste of vomit in my mouth becomes so strong I might just puke because of that. It tastes _toxic_. The puke stings my mouth and the stench reaches my nostrils. It reeks like nuclear waste. My whole body is sticky and on top of the vomit stench, there's also sweat. I flush the toilet and wobble towards the sink. The cold water feels so good against my warm skin. I rinse my mouth with cold, fresh water and stumble towards the bed. I land with a thump on something…mushy?

Oh yeah I threw up all over myself.

I roll off the bed with almost no strength and call for a nurse. Please someone get me out of this mess.

"Naruto?"

The lights click on and the look on the nurse's face is horrifying when she sees me on the floor covered in vomit and soggy bed sheets.

"Oh my! What happened here?"

She puts on gloves and rushes over to take the vomit covered bed sheets off of me. While she's doing the dirty work, I close my eyes and just hope that it'll be over soon. I just want to shower.

"Okay, Naruto are you alright to stand? Come on we have to get you out of that hospital gown and into the shower."

She's gonna wash me?

"You're gonna wa-" I cough furiously and roll my body sideways to throw up again. The stench in the room is unbearable.

She waits until I finish and begins to help me up. I don't even argue whether she's going to clean me or not. The energy to put up a fight is not in me today. Slowly we make our way to the bathroom and she puts me in the shower. I stand there not really knowing what to do.

"You can sit down over there."

She points to a small seat in the shower.

"And I'll be out in your room while you shower up. If you start feeling dizzy or need me just call. I'll be more than happy to help you out."

I nod and watch her leave. Thank goodness she's not going to wash me. That'd be way too much for me. I turn on the shower and sit down. Stripping off my smelly hospital gown and puke covered boxers I begin to scrub my body in laundry detergent smelling soap. Life's a dream eh?

Once I'm out of the shower I stumble into bed wearing a fresh hospital gown and new boxers. Thank goodness I found them in the cabinet above the sink. I notice that the nurse left. So much for her "helping" me. At least the room is all cleaned up and it smells like febreeze. I collapse on the warm bed sheets and fall right asleep.

* * *

_Monday Morning, 5 am._

I wake up at with an uneasiness in my stomach. But this one's different. It's not pain, its excitement. After Fridays Chemo, I had to do another one Sunday morning. I already puked my brains out later that day, so now I feel fine! I quietly tip-toe into the bathroom and start the shower. I feel great today! If not a little nervous. While I lavish myself in hospital soap, I remind myself of the plan. Today I'm going to school for soccer tryouts. After I dry off, I run out of here and catch the nearest bus. I'll get off and run the rest of the distance to school.

It's fool-proof.

I throw on my clothes from Friday (Which were thankfully washed!), put on my backpack, and slip out the door. The corridor is pitch black. I wait a few minutes for my eyes to adjust to the newfound blackness. Gosh this is creepy. I decide not to use the elevator, it'll be too loud. Instead I find myself opening the door to the stairwell. Once I slip in I take a deep breath. To be honest I really didn't think I'd make it this far! I give myself a pat on the back. "Alrighty! It's all uphill from here." I can't stop from forming a grin. I casually walk down four flights of stairs like I own the place. I got this.

I reach for the door handle when suddenly, the door swings open; pouring light into the dark stairwell. The force of the door knocks me on the head with a loud bang! I stumble backwards. No no no! I couldn't have gotten caught! I was so close! Whose gonna be the nurse to rat me out? I shamefully look up.

Stunned sea foam eyes meet mine.

It. Can't. Freaking. Be.

IT'S THE GUY FROM EARLIER THAT WAS FREAKING STARING ME DOWN AND LOOKING LIKE A PSYCHOPATH MURDERER.

I'm so dead. He's wearing all black and has his hood on.

"What are you doing here." He demands, poison seeping from his words.

"I-I uh I'm….well you see I'm uh-" I can't form a single sentence I'm so scared.

He shoots me a glare and extends his arm.

"Get up."

I look at him wide-eyed. He shakes his arm a little before I grab it.

"Alright you caught me." I say defeated.

"Caught you?"

"Well ya, I was trying to sneak out." My stomach grumbles. Stupid stomach, we can eat later.

"Ahhh I see," he puts a hand in his jacket as his facial expression relaxes "need a ride?" He says jingling his keys.

He instructs me to follow him into an old looking pickup truck, which to my defense looks like a murderer's car. The sun isn't even up yet, but I can hear the birds beginning to chirp. I'm basically sitting on what seems to be dried up blood, and the passenger window is completely shattered. Oh, but the mysterious murderer reassured me that it's just ketchup, so I guess it's okay. No, the situation I'm in is everything but okay. The car reeks of rotting meat and the back seat is full of stained boxes and I think there's a cooler there too. I don't even want to know what's in there. The fact that both of the front seat windows are shattered scares me.

It takes the guy three times to start the engine and by that time I observed that the sunroof is caving in and there are no seat belts. As soon as the car starts I open my window. His car reeks! I feel nauseous and stick my head out of the window.

The murderer drives out of the parking lot and onto the freeway. In the meantime, I think of an escape plan.

"Gaara." He looks at me. "That's my name."

"Uhh…Naruto." I greet him. "Um Konoha highschool, can you drive me there?"

He grunts. "What time should I pick you up?"

Did we sign some ghetto pact or something? Is he my personal driver or does this come at a price? Why is he even giving me the time of day?

We drove the rest of the way to school in silence, and to be honest I'm pretty sure he sped most of the time. I had to cling to what little safety I had in that car.

He dropped me off at 6:20 am at the front doors of the building. Man, I thought this would have taken longer. I still have so much time on my hands before school starts.

"I hate to repeat myself, but what time should I pick you up?"

Goodness grief if my dad catches me driving around with a guy like him I'm dead meat.

"Well school ends at two, but I have soccer tryouts so I'm not sure."

Please let me leave.

"Whatever."

He doesn't say anything more so I get out of the car. And with that he drives away.

What am I supposed to do for another hour? Gosh, he couldn't have driven slower. I walk into school and head to the cafeteria. Ugh, it smells so bad in here. I take a seat in the corner so that no one sees me when they arrive to school.

Since I have so much time on my hands I whip out my phone, which I realize I haven't checked since Friday when I had to call my dad.

30 messages and 10 missed calls.

Oops.

I scroll through all of the messages. Mostly from my dad asking me if I'm ok and then freaking out when I didn't reply. Some are from Kiba asking me whatsup and about soccer tryouts. Oh well I guess they can both deal with it. I put my phone in my pocket and put my head down. This is going to be one long hour.

* * *

_7:45 am._

_Riiiiiiiiiiing_

I whip my head up at the sound. I fell asleep, what? Quickly I collect my things and rush to my first class.

When I walk in everyone looks at me. And I mean everyone. Even the teacher whips around to give me a glare. Oh no, what's going on.

"Hey Naruto! What happened to your face?" Sasuke can barely finish the sentence before bursting into laughter. The class then erupts in laughter.

My hand shoots up to feel my face and I rub my cheeks. There's nothing on my face that I can feel?

No.

They did not.

I race out of the room and rush to the bathroom. Once I'm in I look into the mirror and notice why they were laughing. Typical prank to pull on someone that's sleeping; draw embarrassing things on their face in permanent marker prank. Real funny Sasuke.

"Darn it, how is this going to come off?" I whisper to myself.

I splash my face with water and begin to rub pretty hard. I swear if this doesn't come off I'm going to sit in this bathroom all day. I rub harder but it's not coming off.

"No, no, no, no." I slam my fists down on the sink.

I scrub my complexion with a handful of soap, but the outlines of the marks are still there. Anger bubbles up inside of me and threatens to spill. Every freaking chance that jerk gets he does anything to make a fool of me. He will pay.

I miss all of first period washing the marker off my face. When I'm sure I scrubbed every last mark off, I head to second period. I take my regular seat in American Studies and wait until class starts. But of course I can't wait peacefully cause little miss Karin just has to talk to me.

"Dork, don't tell me that you were in the bathroom all of first period." A smirk plays on her lips.

"What do you want?"

"Haha I knew it!" She bellows laughter like a beached land whale, "Oh your face is all red! Don't tell me you were crying? You really are just a big baby after all."

"You know Karin, your being a real-"

"Afternoon Class, turn to page 254 in your textbooks and answer questions 2-47 silently." Mr. Asuma cuts in.

Karin whips around and returns to her seat. I flip open my text book as instructed and focus. I try to do my work, which is a lot harder than one might think.

"All right class your homework is to finish up the pages that were assigned today. Have a nice day!"

* * *

Finally, school is over and I can just go to soccer tryouts. I swear it's what I've been thinking about all day. I'm way more nervous than usual. When I mentioned soccer tryouts to Granny that one time she freaked, so hopefully I won't die or something. Fingers crossed right? I race to the locker room and as the door flings open the horrid stench of gym socks and moldy bathrooms hit me. Ah, nothing like a good ol ' boys locker room.

"Yo, Naruto! Over here!"

I walk over to where Kiba is changing and place my stuff down. I start to undress.

"Hey Kiba!"

"Dude where have you been all weekend? I couldn't get in touch with you."

Shoot think fast.

"Well, I got my phone taken away. It's a long story…but don't worry I have it back now."

He gives me a smirk.

"Always getting yourself in trouble huh?"

Now I can't help but smirk.

"Yeah I guess so. I'm pretty much unstoppable."

We both look at each other and laugh knowing that both of us are far from rebels.

Once I get my sportswear on I head out to the field with Kiba. I look into the parking lot really quick to see if my parents are there, thankfully their not.

Once we make it to the field the coach does the usual introduction and tells us to warm up. Five laps around the school. I can do this, I haven't thrown up yet today and my small headache is almost gone. Ok, so far so good. I run next to Kiba for a good two laps and once we hit lap three I start to lose my steady breath and my headaches slowly starts creeping back up. Kiba slows down a little.

"Hey man, you alright?"

Between heavy pants I manage to say,

"Yeah, I'm fine *pant* just a little tired."

He gives me a thumbs up.

"I'm going to run ahead if you don't mind?"

I just nod; talking right now is way too hard.

At the beginning of the fourth lap I'm pretty much relying on sheer motivation to get me going. I have to finish and make the team. I can't let some stupid cancer keep me from living my life. My forehead is beading with sweat and I can't even feel my own legs. All I can hear is the ringing in my ears and I just try to pretend it's not there.

"Oh so I guess Naruto won't be able to finish the fifth lap? Just give up Uzumaki. That varsity spot is all mine."

Sasuke pretty much sings this out of joy as he laps me and finishes his last lap while I'm only entering my fifth. And if his words didn't already hurt, so did my face when he purposely tripped me. I bite my tongue once my head hits the ground and suddenly I feel my lunch coming up.

Not here.

Please, not here.

"Naruto man, are you okay?!"

I feel an arm on my shoulder and grunt.

"Yeah….I'm okay."

I grab hold of Kiba's arm and he helps me up. Oh yeah I'm shaky alright. My legs feel like rubber and the ringing in my ears hasn't stopped. I let go of Kiba and keep running, although I probably look like a drunken old man trying to walk, I don't care. I'm going to finish. When I pass the small chalk drawn line that's supposed to be a finish line, the coach gives me a worried look. My feet won't stop because I won't let them. I manage to finish the last lap and when I do I race to my water. Everyone else has already finished drinking and they all look at me. Sasuke and his friends all have a look of amusement. Probably planning how to ruin my chance of making the team. And my friends, well friend, is looking at me really worriedly. I chug my water as fast as I can hoping to feel better, but only seconds after receiving the water into my body it pushes its way back up. No, I can't throw up here! Most of the team is already lined up ready for instructions, but Kiba and Sasuke are still here drinking ever so slowly. I only hope they drink faster. After a few minutes Kiba and Sasuke go back to join the others, but not before Kiba asks me if I'm okay. I just nod and hold up one finger to tell him to give me a minute. He pats my shoulder and heads towards the others. In the meantime I rush to the nearest bush, but instead I vomit behind some really nice flowers. There goes my lunch along with the water I just chugged for dear life.

The whistle blows and I stagger up before almost falling over. This headache is unbearable and the ringing in my ears isn't stopping anytime soon. How the heck am I supposed to keep going if I can barely take one step? I take a deep breath and walk over to where everyone else is. Once I'm in sight they all look at me. I give everyone a small smile and make my way towards Kiba very slowly.

"Uzumaki! You alright?"

Darn it coach you had to open your mouth.

"Yes, I feel fine."

He lifts and eyebrow and explains that we are now going to perform a few drills and then everyone will split into teams and play a small game.

I try my best not to completely wipe out and kill myself so I take it a little easy. Once we finish drills, which isn't too bad since we just had to kick the ball around to a partner, we split up into teams to play. And guess who I'm paired up with? Sasuke and Deidara. If you didn't know, they hate me and want to ruin my life.

"Okay Team Sasuke plays Team Kiba. We are only going for 5 minutes so get as many goals in and make it snappy! And….GO!"

Gosh Coach Obito sure is peppy. Coach Kakashi just grunts.

Deidara is goalie, I'm defense, and Sasuke is offense. I just hope I don't mess up. I quickly get into position and try to focus. Sasuke goes in with no regrets as he tries to get past Kiba's defense. Shikamaru quickly kicks the ball with full force and I don't even begin to react as it whizzes past me and into the goal. He kicked it into the goal from that far away? Excuse me, is that possible? Deidara grunts and Sasuke looks at me with ice cold eyes. I just stand there and rejoice that it didn't hit me in the head. If it did I would have died.

"What are you smiling at? He got a goal. Focus Uzumaki, we all know you suck, but make yourself useful okay?" Sasuke snaps, venom oozing from his lips.

Well at least he's not spitting at me or hitting me. I could care less about what anyone says to me at the moment. I just want to get this tryout over with.

The whistle blows again and the ball is on the other side of the field. Looks like Sasuke is doing well. He manages to get past Kiba and is heading for Shikamaru again, but then suddenly as if out of thin air, or maybe my lack of attention, the ball is at my feet and I can't move.

"What the heck are you doing kick it moron!" Sasuke is yelling from across the field.

I just look at it. Why can't I get myself to kick it? I try but my leg won't move, it's as if something is restraining it. As if my day couldn't get any worse, the ringing in my ears becomes so loud that I double over. My hands cover my ears and I bite my lips. It just won't stop. I can't hear anything and I don't want to make a scene so I do the first thing that pops into my mind.

"Ah, a bee flew in my ear!"

Please buy it. I dig my finger nail into my pretty much numb ear and hope that it puffs up to look like a bee sting.

I feel hands on my shoulders but can barely make out what anyone is saying. Coach Obito directs me towards the bleachers and grabs an ice pack. I grab it and hold it firmly against my ears. I can see Sasuke laughing with his friends. This is by far the worst day I have ever had. I sit on the bleachers for about half an hour until tryouts are over. Once I see that it's ending I head for the lockers. There goes my chance at making the soccer team.

I rip off my sweaty clothes and splash water all over my face. I don't even bother to shower, I just want to go home. Wait. Wait. Wait. I can't let my dad know I went to school. I have no money, darn maybe I can ask for a free bus ride. I'm the first one out of the locker room and I pass everyone else without saying word. I take my time to head to the parking lot because I have no idea where I'm going. Meanwhile, people begin to walk out of the locker room and I don't want to stand around and wait with everyone. I see Sasuke and quickly make a plan. I'll just head for the trails, get out on the main road and go from there. Yeah, sounds good. I begin to walk towards the other end of the school when I hear heavy metal music blasting throughout the parking lot and an old pickup truck coming into view. The familiar face of a murderer pops into view and immediately all conversations stop and tension becomes so thick you can slice it with a knife.

No.

It can't be.

The car pulls up and there is no need to roll the window down for me to see who it is.

* * *

AUTHORS NOTE: Hey guys, thanks so much and especially for reviewing! I'm really glad to see that people enjoy this story! If anyone's wondering when Sakura comes in, I'm actually planning on putting her in later. I just want to transition Naruto from his old life to his "new" life. My guess is that Sakura will come in a few more chapters, so please be patient. Thanks again for the reviews, you guys are so amazing! (: And I'm really sorry if my story isn't on point with the cancer experience...I'm trying the best as I can to write this from an inexperienced point of view. You see, my cousin had cancer, and is a cancer survivor and he's been my main inspiration for this story. If there are any mistakes with the cancer explanation and treatment and such please PM me so that I can fix it right away. Thanks again you guys all seriously made my day. Love you all, adios! 3


	4. Chapter 4

"Are you just gonna stand there, or get in. I don't have time to wait around."

No freaking way. He actually came.

I make the walk of shame towards the car and hear someone whisper,

"Is that the mafia?"

Great now I look like some thug.

I open the car door using all of my remaining dignity.

"Yo, I got you a McFlurry?"

I take a shaking breath while trying my best to climb into the car seat.

"Drive."

My door is still open and he floors it! We veer into motion. A scream rips from my throat.

"ARE YOU TRYING TO KILL ME?!"

We swerve out of the parking lot onto the main road in less then 2.5 seconds. I don't even want to look back. We slowly glide back into the speed limit. The mafia leader extends his hand once again and drops the McFlurry in my lap.

"Eat it. You look like a dead animal."

I grab the drink and slowly bring the straw to my lips. At this point I don't even care if he poisoned the darn thing. My headache is still buzzing in my ears and Gaara commands me to lay down in the seat. I do as he says and close my eyes. Gaara turns off the radio.

"Where do you want to go?"

Is he serious? I look like I'm dying and he doesn't know where to take me?

"Hospital."

"You'll need to sneak in."

"I have no strength to even move, let alone drink this McFlurry."

"But you'll finish it right?"

There's a hint of worry in his voice.

"Sure."

The rest of the ride goes smoothly. I don't bother to fall asleep because I'm afraid that at any minute he could try to kill me. Suddenly we aren't moving anymore and I flutter my eyes open. We're at a graveyard. What part of the word hospital did he not understand?

"You stay here and sleep. I have an appointment."

"With who, the dead?"

His eyes grow cold as he finishes the last of his McFlurry. Bad move Naruto, bad move.

"You know I can just drop you off here and you can walk the rest."

"Sorry."

Gaara slams the door shut. I close my eyes, and I'm out.

* * *

I wake up in my hospital bed in a fresh gown, and I'm freshly showered. Who the heck cleaned me?

"You're finally awake."

Every hair on my body sticks up and I whip my head to the sound. There, with the moonlight pouring through the window, sits the murderer. Someone might as well whip out a pen and start writing my will. I can't even form words; I'm honestly creeped out on a new level.

"Do you even know the trouble you've caused me today."

He slumps in his seat.

"I come back from dropping you off and there is a commotion in the front lobby. Lady Tsunade is rushing towards your room to give you some stupid multivitamins that supposedly improve your health. I seriously slide my way past her and fake faint on the spot. She ends up lugging me to my own room and putting me in bed. I'm pretty sure she was going to head for your room again so I grabbed her arm and told her to tell me a story. After that plan failed, I knocked her out and shoved her in my bathroom. Skip forward a few hours and I'm dressed in doctor attire. I'm covering as your personal nurse for the day. To end up being your personal nurse, I had to sprint my way from my wing of the hospital all the way to yours. It went pretty smooth, until maybe the last hour when Nancy was going to give you lunch. Yeah, not on my watch. I explained how I'm a professional who was hired for the day and I told her that you're all set. I put your lunch in your room and then I went out. She saw me and asked me if I was the mental patient that escaped earlier this morning. She started freaking out about this huge search party looking for me and that the police were contacted and it got on my nerves, so I did the next best thing. I knock her out."

I can't help but interrupt.

"The next best thing? What was the first?"

"Killing her. But that's not the point. I finally knocked out Nancy, and was on my way to exit the front lobby to pick you up. But I didn't get past the lobby because I saw someone that looks just like you, your father. I debated my options. Knocking him out, which would leave me arrested, or confuse him. I walked up and explained how I'm a doctor and how there is a mental patient on the loose and no visitors are allowed. He put up fight, but soon left. Then I went to pick you up and we drove to the graveyard, where you passed out. I couldn't wake you up so I lugged your body up four flights of stairs. As your personal doctor it was my duty to bathe you and dress you. Do you know how much trouble you put me through? And how much trouble I'm in? I had to make an excuse that I was in McDonald's for twelve hours and that I "accidently" hit Lady Tsunade and that she "mysteriously" ended up in a closet."

What the heck did Gaara just explain to me.

"I never asked you to do any of this for me! But wait you bathed me?!-"

"Oh shut up. Listen you owe me a large McFlurry."

"Wait what time is it?!"

"9:00 pm."

"And you're still allowed in my room after all of that?"

"Listen, I look forward to tomorrow. What are we doing?"

I immediately click the button for the nurse. I can't hang around a murderer. Five nurses rush into the room almost instantly and the minute they see Gaara they all ask him to leave. He slowly makes his way up and out of the room.

"Naruto, are you alright? Did he hurt you?"

"No, I clicked it on accident. Sorry." I lie.

They smile and tell me to rest.

"Since it is Monday it's time for your chemo…we know it's a bit late, but you were asleep and it's dangerous to do chemo on sleeping patients. It will only be an hour."

"Oh, okay then."

They do the same procedure from Friday. I decide it's a good time to check my phone.

Just a few messages from Kiba asking about my bee sting and a missed call from my dad. Might as well answer. I text Kiba saying I'm doing fine and that I'm heading to bed. Almost immediately I get a response saying to feel better and a goodnight. He's such a good friend. Since I'm doing chemo for an hour and can't go to sleep, which is a total bummer, I call my dad. Literally one ring and he's on the other line.

"Hey kiddo! How you feeling?"

I sit up a little on my bed.

"I feel good. They gave me chemo just now so I can't go to sleep for another hour."

Total lie about the feeling good part. Actually I feel awful. Thank goodness Gaara carried me into the building and put me to bed, I don't think I'd be able to climb four flights of stairs. Soccer tryouts completely drained me. Every muscle in my body is sore and my head is still killing me. At least the ringing in my ears isn't too bad.

"Well, it's good they are treating you. Naruto, you weren't perhaps anywhere near the mental patient when he went loose were you?

Oh the worry in his voice is so evident. I can't help but laugh a little. If only my dad knew he was acting as my personal driver, man he'd flip out.

"No, dad. Of course I wasn't anywhere near him! He's on the other side of the building and I just stayed in my room all day sleeping."

"Thank goodness, I was so worried. I was going to come see you but a doctor told me no visitors are allowed."

"It's okay dad."

I'm trying so hard not to just burst out laughing. The "doctor" he was talking to was the actual mental patient. Oh the irony.

"So uh dad, is mom there?"

There's a pretty long pause, did he hang up?

"Yeah, let me go give her the phone."

His voice has completely lost the small cheeriness it had before.

"Naruto?"

And she lives.

"Hey mom! Whatsup?"

"Well I'm reading a book right now, honey how are you?"

Okay, this a good start. She hasn't shut down yet.

"I'm good mom. They're doing chemo on me right now, so I'm forced to stay up another hour."

"It's good they're treating you well. I'm sure another hour won't kill you Naruto. You stay up so late at home anyways."

We both laugh a little.

"Yeah, I guess you're right. Anyways, do I get to come home tomorrow? I miss you and dad."

I can almost hear the smile forming on her face.

"I believe so. You were supposed to come home today, but your dad said there was a small…predicament, yes, and it was delayed to tomorrow."

I'm lolling.

"What's so funny? Naruto did you do something…"

"No, mom of course not! I was sleeping all day."

Okay, no more laughing about murderers on the loose.

"Mhm. So Naruto tell me, is the chemo helping?"

Well it was until I went and tried out for soccer.

"Yeah, it's doing wonders. I feel a lot better."

I feel bad lying, but what happened today stays between me and Gaara.

I hear her sigh on the other end of the line.

"Thank goodness. Well sweetie I'm going to head to bed, do you want your father?."

"Okay, mom night. And um sure."

Well, that went surprisingly well. She didn't avoid the topic or hang up, so she must be feeling better about my situation. Thank goodness.

"Hello? Naruto?"

"Oh hey dad!"

He chuckles.

"Well Naruto, like your mother, I think I'll head to bed as well. We'll see you tomorrow morning and pick you up. Goodnight sport."

"Night dad."

I hear the end of the line buzz and put my phone down.

For the remaining time, I just stare at the wall and think about what happened today. Well, I'm definitely not making the soccer team, and I'll have to do something to make my ear look swollen to fake the bee sting. And then about Gaara…man I have no idea what's going to happen with him. Hopefully he doesn't come to pick me up ever again. Although I guess there is a good side to him, even if he is a murderer. I shiver at the thought and almost puke. Too much happened today, way too much.

The nurse comes in and takes the needle out of my arm. I thank her and close my eyes. I drift into a long slumber.

* * *

_Tuesday Morning_

I wake up and find myself in the midst of an argument going down.

"You can't just sneak into his room at night! You're unstable! Get out of here and go back to your room!"

Man this nurse looks young. She seems to be around the same age as me with short brown hair and big rustic brown eyes. She's pretty cute.

"Shut up woman."

Are you kidding me?

Why the heck is Gaara in my room again? And why is he arguing with this girl when I'm trying to sleep?

I groan and all eyes are on me.

"Great you woke him up." Gaara says this while rolling his eyes.

"Oh my, Naruto I'm so sorry for the shouting…you see…_Gaara_ here was in your room and he's not allowed to be anywhere in this part of the hospital."

"Stop treating me like some animal. I can do what I want." He says pouting like a child.

I sit up in my bed. I don't mind drama as long as I'm not involved, so I'll just enjoy this a little longer.

The nurse focuses her attention on Gaara.

"Listen you! It's already hard enough being your nurse." She crosses her arms. "Can you stop making my job so difficult! Just stay in your darn room and eat your stupid McFlurryies-"

"Drink, I don't eat them."

"Whatever _drink_ your McFlurries and do as I say! I'm in charge here and you're going to stay put in your room unless told to otherwise. And stop giving me the attitude!"

I gulp. Man she sure gets scary when she's mad.

Gaara lifts and eyebrow and smirks. With one swift motion he grabs the small nurse hat and puts it on his head. Oh no he didn't.

"You've done it now" her face is red of anger.

With the little nurse hat on, he gets all giddy and darts out of the room. She groans loudly and quickly follows. I can hear her calling for back-up on her way out.

Well that went better than expected. No one died.

I roll over on my stomach to grab my phone. 7 am. Are you serious? They couldn't have argued in the hallway? I groan and lazily head to the bathroom. Might as well get cleaned up before my parents come. The minute I reach the bathroom nausea takes over and suddenly I'm vomiting into the toilet bowl. I didn't even eat anything yet! It's all foamy and some weird specs of who knows what escape my mouth. I realize that my all of my muscles are sore. Even the slightest movement makes me wince in pain. I lean on the wall while taking my shower and just hope I make it out in one piece.

I manage to get cleaned up successfully and once I'm out of the bathroom, must have been in there a long time, I see my parents standing in my room arguing with Granny. Seriously, more arguing? Once they notice me wobbling in the doorway my mom rushes over and helps me stand. I smile at her and just nod.

"What's going on?"

My dad looks over at me. His body language is calm and collected, but his eyes are so cold that he could freeze this whole room. I know that look. Whenever he gets mad he stays silent and kills you with his eyes. It's like looking at ice swords, ready to pierce you at every remark. Whatever Granny did was really, and I mean really, bad.

"Well Naruto, it seems that the drugs we have been giving you are not strong enough, and your cancer is getting worse. It's very odd seeing that after Friday's chemo things were going uphill, but then all of a suddenly Monday night, when we read the stats, you were doing a lot worse. We are not sure why this occurred…Naruto you perhaps didn't do anything that could have affected your rates at getting better?"

Shoot they're on to me. I take a deep breath, might as well confess. I mean my parents know when I lie.

"Well I-"

The door to my room flings open.

It's a girl. Her breaths are rigged and there's a soft pink coating her cheeks. She looks scared, horrified maybe. She frazzled hair is light pink, and I can't help but notice how it perfectly frames her face. Her intense green eyes scan the room before landing on Lady Tsunade. Her eyes, they look so, so…sad. In a raspy-panicked voice she coughs out:

"Lady Tsunade please come next door quickly!"

She says this in between breaths. Tears form in the corners of her eyes.

"I am so sorry you three, I must go now. You can leave as of right now. Naruto your parents know the dates for the chemo."

She rushes out of the door following the frazzled pinkette.

Who was that girl?

Once they leave my parents escort me out of the hospital and to the car. During the whole car ride my mom and dad whisper, more like argue, in hushed voices while I pretend to sleep. Man, Granny you really messed up. We arrive at home half an hour later and I feel like I've been away for years. It's still pretty early in the morning so my mom heads to the kitchen to whip up some breakfast and I go to my room to change. I change into a solid black tee-shirt and white sweats. So good to be in some fresh clothes. I rub my temples. Gosh, this headache just doesn't give up. I sit on my bed and lean on my hands.

"Naruto! Come downstairs!"

I'm not even hungry though.

"Coming!"

I sit down and inhale the creamy goodness of my mom's cooking. A fresh stack of pancakes sits in from of me with maple syrup oozing down the sides. Home squeezed orange juice rests to the left of the pancakes, and besides that, sits a healthy serving of cinnamon apple oatmeal. My mom then sits on my left and my dad on my right. I feel my stomach grumble, and for the first time in days, I'm starving. I shove a forkful of pancakes down my throat and almost squeal in joy. I don't feel like puking either!

"Woah, slow down there kiddo!"

My dad chuckles and my mom just sighs.

I can't even respond because I can't stop eating. It feels so good to eat something and not want to throw it all up. My mom pours me some freshly squeezed orange juice and I take a big gulp before taking my plate and putting it in the dishwasher. After that's taken care of I take my seat at the table once more and ask;

"So, what did Granny want this morning?"

My mom pauses for a second and my dad puts his fork down with a little bit more force than necessary. My mom gives my dad a look and she turns to face me.

"Well sweetie, Tsunade was just explaining to us your current situation and all. She says that your chemo is working and your appointments will be every Wednesday and Friday at 3:30, but since you already had chemo done yesterday you will just have to go on Friday this week."

Well it's not like I made the soccer team, so who cares what day I have chemo.

I take a deep long breath and smile at my parents.

"Okay mom. Thanks for breakfast it was delicious! Haven't eaten something that good in days."

My mom smiles.

"Thank you. I'm glad you enjoyed it Naruto."

I excuse myself and head upstairs. I hear my phone buzzing in my drawer. I check the caller ID.

Kiba? What does he want?

"Hello?"

"Naruto where are you?!"

"I'm at home."

"Sick? Ah well whatever I can't chat long, but I just wanted to let you know we made the soccer team! And varsity too! Practice starts tomorrow after school til 4. See ya then!"

Excuse me?

* * *

_Wednesday night._

I'm lying in my bed thinking about what went down at practice today. I can't believe Coach Kakashi put me as a goalie. A _goalie._ I was the best offense on the team last year! I scored so many goals and basically won the championship game for the team, and stupid Kakashi puts me as a goalie. Well at least being a goalie doesn't mean I have to run around a lot. But it was so embarrassing. All of us were practicing and then he just pulled me over. Right in front of the whole team! He told me that my tryouts were very unlike me and that my performance last year was excellent ad so he didn't want to let me off the team. And since my tryout was utter crap, he decided that I should take it easy and be a goalie for a little. Oh and on top of that, I have to somehow go to chemo every Wednesday and Friday after school and still participate in soccer games and practice. I'm pretty much doomed.

I roll over from my thoughts and look at the clock. 12 pm. I should probably sleep I'm exhausted. I turn off my lamp and head to bed with not another thought in my mind.

* * *

_Friday of the Next Week._

Today's our first soccer game and it's home. I'm pumped. I feel like I'm finally going back to my normal life.

I somehow managed to convince Coach Kakashi to let me leave a little early on Wednesdays and Fridays, so chemo hasn't been an issue.

This morning I made sure to pack my fresh and clean uniform which I self handedly washed so that my parents wouldn't see it. It's such a process to keep this secret. And during school most of my teammates were super excited, especially Kiba. He wouldn't stop talking about how we were going to crush Suna High, but to be honest their team is really bad. I made sure to tell my parents that I'm staying afterschool to do a project, something like that. Most of the team has already left the locker room while I'm here stuck in my thoughts. Man, when did I become so emotional and stuff. Guess this is what dying does to you?

I grab my water bottle and head out the locker room door, time to kick some butt.

On the field both teams begin to warm up and my heart is racing. The majority of the school showed up! There is no way I'm going to let myself screw this up. Cancer or no cancer I'm not going to embarrass myself. The whistle blows and we all jog over to the Coach.

"Okay team. I expect a win and a good game. Good luck to you all. I will let the team captain say a few words."

Team Captain he says. Of course it's Sasuke. Who else would it be? I start to boil in anger. That was my spot last year, the one thing that made me better than Sasuke and of course he took it away.

"Hn. Not much to say, just don't mess up."

For a sophomore he can even intimidate the seniors. How he does it, I don't know.

We all put our hands in the middle of the small circle we formed and shout;

"LET'S GO KONOHA!"

We all head out onto the field. As I head over to the goalie post I can hear Sasuke snicker.

"Hope you get hit pretty hard in the face Naruto, then we won't have to bother having you on this team. What a deadlast."

Kiba awkwardly stands there and Deidara erupts in laughter. I just put my mouth guard in to keep myself from saying a thousand curse words. Poor Kiba has to be a middle with those two. I sigh and look at our team.

We have Shikamaru, Sasori, Juugo, and Suigetsu are playing defense. Itachi, Neji, and Rock Lee are our three strikers, but Sasuke sometimes switches with his older brother. And then there's me, the cancer patient goalie.

The whistle blows and the game begins.

Sasuke wastes no time and snatches the ball. He sprints towards the opposing goal. I take this time to relax a little. As long as the ball is not on our side, it's not my problem. The air is thick with moisture, making my shirt wet in sweat in a matter of minutes. Sasuke still has the ball in his possession. A horrid sound shakes me from my thoughts.

I swear, the noise coming from the bleachers sounds like someone is being murdered. I look over really quick to see what the heck is going on and find Ino and Karin jumping up and down screaming Sasuke's name.

"Come on Sasuke! You can do it!"

Shut up Ino. He has a girlfriend.

"Get a goal for me Sasuke!"

Karin no one even likes you.

I grunt and look away from them. What a nuisance. Sasuke then passes the ball to Kiba for the final strike. Kiba gets control of the ball and kicks it into motion. Time slows as the goalie catches the ball firmly.

A roar of boo's and "Better luck next time" echo's the field. Sasuke looks annoyed. The goalie then releases the ball back into play. Sasuke and Kiba move fast trying to get the ball from the opposing team. The Suna player makes his way past Sasuke by kicking the ball through his feet and sliding in-between them. How that's even possible, I have no idea. Sasuke looks frustrated as he runs after him. Kiba tries to block, but the Suna player whizzes past him. Who even is this kid? I don't remember him from last year. He's short with platinum blonde hair that's cut kind of like mine, just a little shorter. He's swift and seems to have a really good strategy going for him. The rest of his team is practically doing nothing! It's all eyes on him. I get into stance as he pushes his way towards the goal.

Don't mess up Uzumaki.

He comes in close and kicks the ball with immense force. My feet dig into the dirt and I push off with speed. I race towards where the ball is heading and fling myself into the air to keep it from coming into the goal. I extend my hand hoping that I feel the ball bounce off of it, but instead the ball comes in full contact with the side of my face and I'm slammed into the goal post. I hear the short Suna kid shout:

"Dude are you okay?!"

I clutch my head with both of my hands and just lay on the grass trying not to go unconscious. I just give him a simple nod. The headache from earlier is even more intensified now and for some reason all the muscles in my body are aching. I mean, I only hit my head so the pain in my whole body shouldn't be this bad…

Oh no.

I lay there with my eyes wide and my head pulsing. I forgot to take my pills this morning! I was so wrapped up in packing my uniform and extra snacks that I forgot to take my pills. That's why I felt so sick during warm-ups. Darn it, I'm such an idiot.

"Naruto, are you alright?" Kiba says between breaths. He bends down so that I can meet his eyes.

"Y-yeah." I say rubbing my head and beginning to stand up. He grabs my arm and pulls me to my feet.

"Thanks man."

"Yeah no problem. Gotta say, nice save!" He pats my back. I nearly vomit at the contact.

I see the coach running up with an ice pack.

"Naruto, here take this. Go take a seat. I think you're done playing for today. That hit looked like it hurt a lot." Coach Kakashi says shoving the icepack in my hands.

"N-no! I can still play don't worry. It was just a small hit."

If he kicks me off from this game I won't hear the end of it.

"Hn, don't worry Coach. We don't need him on our team." Sasuke smirks from in the field.

"Sasuke you little-" I stop and take a deep breath.

"Coach, just let me play until half time. Please."

Kakashi's eyes look worried but he agrees to let me play.

I stumble back into position.

I pretty much let every goal in and our team is losing 1-5. The girls on the bleachers are snickering at me and booing. Everytime I let a goal pass I hear them shouting:

"Take Naruto off of the team! He's making Sasuke looks bad!"

And to that Sasuke glares at me. I'm pretty much dead.

My headache just keeps getting worse and worse and by the time half time comes around my vision is blurry and I feel like puking. The whole team comes in for a huddle, but I'm unable to stand. I just sit there and listen to what they have to say. Kakashi explains that Deidara will be the goalie and that the team really needs to pull through and work together to win this game. He also puts Choji in Deidara's spot. Once the team huddle is over Kakashi comes and sits next to me.

"Hey Coach." I'm so dizzy I could just fall onto his lap in any given moment.

"Naruto, I need to talk to you about something."

I really feel like passing out please don't talk to me. Coach Kakashi sits next to me.

"Naruto, when I first saw you play I thought, wow I need this kid to play for me. Your tryout was rough this year. The only reason you're not on junior varsity is because last year you were on varsity. You were a star player, one of the best. You really pulled the team together." Coach stops and observes the field. Suigetsu just scored a goal and the crowd goes wild. He waits until the cheering subsides and continues, "Through these three weeks of soccer season, you haven't been improving. Your teammates are getting better and better with each passing day and you're getting left behind. At this rate, I'll have to kick you off the team." He looks at the field, then back at me.

"Either prove me wrong, or go home."

My breathing quickens and I start to panic. I can't get kicked off the team! That's so embarrassing and I'm sure Sasuke will use it against me for the rest of my life. I'll be a humiliation to all of Konoha sports history. I look at Kakashi and then at my own feet. I feel helpless. My own teammates probably hate me for letting so many goals in today, and I'm pretty sure Kakashi is fed up with me. Stupid cancer ruined everything. I take a deep breath and stand up. I should go take my pills and go home, but I do something even better.

"I'm going back in the game." My hands are shaking and I think I'm going delusional.

"No you are not. Not in your current condition, for goodness's sake Naruto you can't even stand!"

Kakashi's voice is stern but I can hear the worry spilling its way into my ears.

I ignore him and put on my goalie equipment. For some reason it seems that my mind is not listening to the pain ripping my body apart. Kakashi calls out to me, but I ignore him. I am not going to be the laughing stock of the school, even if I get myself killed. I stagger out onto the field and even though I'm on the turf while the ball is being played the only thing I can focus on is the goalie net.

"Deidara! Switch with Naruto!"

A small smile of gratitude creeps its way up. Thank goodness Kakashi has some nice in him. When Deidara passes he spits in my face and bumps my shoulder hard enough to make me stumble. It's like he _wants_ to kill me.

"Yah, show Coach that you suck even more."

He laughs at his own joke and runs back to the bleachers. I grit my teeth and run, well wobble, towards the goalie. Everything is blurry and the ringing in my ears only intensifies the headache. I look over at my teammates. Sasuke looks frustrated and is glaring at Kakashi. I'm assuming they are exchanging some sort of unspoken words because Kakashi is shrugging and looking over at me while Sasuke is giving him the death glare. Kiba has the ball right now and is making his way towards the opponent's goal. He kicks, the crowd tenses up, and he scores. The girls erupt in screams, but root for the wrong player as they scream Sasuke's name. Ino is practically drooling when Sasuke wipes his brow with the bottom of his shirt. Karin is taking pictures, and I'm pretty sure there are over one thousand because her thumb is moving faster than the speed of light. Poor Kiba won't get his share of fame from the girls, but at least the guys on the team all dog pile him and are patting his back and ruffling his hair. Good for him. He looks over at me and I give him a big, well as big as I can make it, smile and a thumbs up. He returns the smile and then gets back into position.

The whistle blows and the ball is put into play. The short Suna kid gets the ball and is coming for the goal at full speed. He manages to get past our defense, but my vision is so blurry and delayed that he manages to score an easy goal. My reaction is delayed and so I just end up swatting air. I hear boos coming from the stands, especially from the girls.

"What is Naruto doing back on the team?!"

"Take him out! He's going to make Konoha lose!"

Ino and Karin both screech at the top of their lungs and start booing. And soon enough most of the people on the bleachers are booing, and when I spot Hinata doing the same I'm immediately ashamed and my breath catches in my throat. She's here? Well no duh, Sasuke is her boyfriend, but still… I just made a complete fool of myself! I'm about to kill the Suna kid when I look up and see that the ball is in play again, must be the ringing that is clogging up my hearing. My palms are sweaty and my whole body is shaking. I just want to curl up and die. This whole day has been awful. I forgot to take my pills this morning, I have no ride home (meaning I have to drive myself in the current state I'm in), my crush is booing at me, and I'm pretty sure this is my last soccer game. The fourth quarter is a complete mess. I end up getting hit in the neck and I'm unable to breath for a few minutes, obviously I don't make a scene, and our team loses 3-7. And the worst part, it's all my fault.

* * *

**Author's Note: Hey y'all! Hopefully this chapter was okay, and I apologize if there is anything wrong with the soccer part. I don't personally play soccer so I don't know much about it. I had help from my friend, but maybe he didn't explain it well, or something. Please don't be too harsh on me about that! Also, for those of you waiting for Sakura, she will be making an appearance in the next chapter! Not just as the girl who runs in asking for Tsunade. XD (The narusaku relationship will be progressing I'm not going to make it a love at first sight type of thing.) I just hope you guys will like where I'm going to go with this story! (: Thanks so much for all of the support, you guys rock! Reviews and follows help soo much, so i'm really appreciating all of them! Well, that's all for now...toodles~**


	5. Chapter 5

After our team huddle I force my feet to move and struggle to the locker rooms. I'm the last one in and I see that the majority of the team has already left. I sit down and lean my back against the lockers. Kakashi wanted to talk to me after the game, pretty sure my farewell speech, but I couldn't even utter a word. The doors to the locker room fling open and in an instant two figures are looming over me.

Crap.

"Look at him Suigetsu. He's completely helpless" states Deidara. "What are you, out of breath from your pathetic gameplay?" He throws his fist into the locker, inches away from my head. His head leans close to mine and I can taste his breathe in my mouth. I try so hard to come up with some pathetic comeback, but I can't even form a sentence. He slams his palms onto my head and the back of my head hits the lockers so hard everything goes black for a second. I fall onto my side and Suigetsu kicks my stomach and leaves his foot pressing into my abdomen. "That was for making the team." He spits on my face. Black dots envelope my vision. He pushes me up against the locker so hard that my back rubs against the rough edges of the locker and tears my skin. I can feel blood tickle down my back. I grunt in pain and try to grab a firm hold of Sugetsu's foot. I miserably fail and his foot shoots up and meets my chin. "And that was for making us lose!" My head slams back into the locker once more and this time I feel blood. I immediately vomit.

"Ew, Suigetsu you idiot you made him puke! It's going to be hard to lug him into the shower now."

I open one eye and see Suigetsu shrug a little. I feel two hands on my ankles and another grabbing my hands. I'm elevated and then quickly thrown against the shower walls. My back throbs with pain and I am so dizzy that Deidara and Suigetsu look like two blobs. I am motionless and begin to vomit uncontrollably. They must have recognized the bleeding coming from the back of my head because they begin to panic.

"Dude I think we cracked the back of his head open! Oh shoot, if someone finds him like this we're screwed."

Deidara frantically whispers to Suigetsu.

"Turn on the shower maybe it'll wash it all off."

"Hn, good idea."

There is cold water pouring onto my bloody corpse-like body and the whole shower floor is turned a dark maroon color. I begin to slip in and out of conscience, but the ice cold water is nipping at me and forcing me to stay awake. The two boys scurry out of the locker room and leave me to basically die a worthless death in a shower. I close my eyes and try to take deep breaths, but fail and vomit blood all over the floor instead. My body begins to shiver wildly and I start to choke on all the vomit coming out of my mouth. I faintly hear the locker room door open.

"Hey Loser are you…Naruto?"

Out of all the people in the world why is Sasuke here? Probably to beat me up some more.

The rushing of footsteps towards me speeds up and the ice cold water stops pouring down on my almost lifeless body. I feel a pair of hands grab my shoulders and prop me up so that I'm leaning against the shower wall.

"Naruto, oh man what happened to you?"

"Bucket now-"

I can't finish my sentences because there is vomit spewing from my mouth. I feel so bad cause half of the vomit projectiles onto Sasuke. Panicking, Sasuke races to get a trashcan and when he does he leans my head in it and pats my back. Wow, never thought Sasuke would be doing this for me after years of hating me. After what seems like eternity, but is only a half an hour, I finally stop puking. My body is shaking and my teeth are chattering. I'm freezing. He gives me a wet towel to put on my bloody head and tells me to lean back on it to suppress the bleeding.

"Naruto I'm calling the hospital."

My dizziness immediately goes away and I shoot my head up from its lazy position. The adrenaline is pumping through my body. If he calls the hospital my parents will find out what's been going on for sure, I mean they might already be suspicious since my chemo treatments keep coming back with worse results, but still!

"NO! I mean, no, it's not necessary. I feel fine really…just a bit sick that's all."

Sasuke's fingers stop dialing and he raises an eyebrow.

"Naruto, someone doesn't just puke for half an hour and feel 'just a bit sick.' I'm definitely calling for some backup."

No way, he cannot do this. I extend my arm and grab his wrist firmly with all my strength. I glare at those onyx eyes.

"Do it and I tell the principal you sent Deidara and Suigetsu in here to beat me up."

I got him now. He's taken a back for a second and then once he clearly registers what I said his face turns the color of white chalk.

"That wasn't-"

I intensify my grip.

"Ow ow, okay it was me. Now could you let go, I thought you were dying."

I relax and lean back on the wet towel. My breathing quickens a little. Too much strength was used just now.

"Anyways, what's wrong with you dweeb? Do you have stomach flu or something?"

Just when I thought he was going to be nice and help me out he says something like that. And they call me unpredictable.

"Sasuke it's nothing you should worry about."

I can see that he's getting annoyed.

"How can it be nothing? Come Naruto, don't be a baby about the situation. You made our team lose our first home game, might as well share your "illness" with a teammate. Don't tell me you're anorexic."

He laughs at his own joke and then when he sees I'm not laughing he stops.

"What? Can't take a jo-"

"I have cancer Sasuke."

The look on his face is priceless. His onyx eyes widen and then he begins to chuckle. Kind of like an insane person.

"What? Don't kid around Naruto. You? Cancer? No way."

He scans my eyes hoping it's some kind of joke, but then the look of fear strikes his onyx orbs again when he sees I'm serious.

"I have leukemia. I was diagnosed three weeks ago. On average, patients with this disease only live about 6 weeks after being diagnosed. I'm already halfway done with my life."

I take a deep breath and shut my eyes. For a long while we both just sit there in silence.

"Hey, hey Naruto wake up!" Sasuke's hands are on my shoulders. He's shaking me and I groan.

"Don't touch…hurts."

"Dude I have to get you to a hospital you don't look good at all. Listen I'm sorry for everything man, if I knew you had cancer I wouldn't…I wouldn't…"

"It's fine…don't tell anyone, please. It's the least you could do."

He puts his hand to his heart.

"My lips are sealed!"

I smile a little. He's acting like the old Sasuke I knew a few years back. I rest my head on my shoulder. Sasuke looks at me nervously and bites his lip. He bends down and sits right next to me. I hear his head hit the locker.

"Listen Naruto. I'm sorry."

Did Sasuke Uchiha just apologize?

"What?"

"I said I'm sorry darn it! Listen to me, I'm…I'm jealous okay! Stop being a brat about it! You've always had the perfect life. Parents don't compare you to anybody, your funny, and you make friends super fast! I messed up! I got all jealous of you and I got really mad at myself."

He was jealous of me? This has got to be some kind of joke. We don't say anything for a while. Sasuke breaks the silence once more.

"The only reason I left you was because I wanted to date Hinata. I knew you liked her and to be honest I liked her too…I know, stupid thing to ruin a friendship over. But, I joined the "popular kids" and I basically hate everyone one of them. They're all serious jerks and the way they treat people is awful. They way they treat you is awful. I didn't want to stoop low and ruin your life Naruto-"

"But you did. And now you're apologizing because I'm going to die soon. Is that it?"

No one talks and all we both hear is my panting and constant shifting.

"I guess that's what it looks like, but now that I think about it I really am genuinely sorry. Guess my apology is a bit too late huh?"

He looks over at me and I just stare at the ground.

"You know, you can have Hinata. I…I don't like her anymore."

I can see that he's a bit shocked. He blinks a few times and I can't help but chuckle a bit.

"What? Surprised?"

"Yeah, are you serious? Dude you were like in love with her for the longest time!"

I just shrug.

"What's the point of loving someone if I'm going to die any day now."

Sasuke's breath hitches. He looks me dead in the eyes.

"Don't talk like that man. It's scary. Think of the positives. I'm sure there's a girl out there who needs you just as much as you need her. Trust me okay? I know I haven't been a good friend to you, but mark my word, don't give up hope. Naruto you're not ugly, psht you hung out with me!"

Going a bit too far there buddy boy. I just smirk.

"Yah but I have cancer. Who would like someone that's dying."

Sasuke shrugs.

"Beats me! But you have to stop living like you're going to die. Come on man, you got a whole life ahead of you. And if you're taking chemo you still have a chance! Just think of that. What will a gloomy attitude do for you anyways?"

For the first time in a while I feel like I have my old friend back.

"Alright get off of me you little cheerleader. Too much prep talk hurts my soul."

I give him a foxy grin and we both laugh for a bit until I start coughing and Sasuke pats my back.

"Call, dad. And get me out of the shower." I say gasping for air.

I'm unable to form proper sentences. My chin is aching me from where Suigetsu kicked it and my whole entire body feels numb from the cold and the pain. Sasuke calls my dad and tells him to come to the school immediately. He comes over to me and helps me out of the shower. Once he has me seated on the floor I start to tug my shirt off but don't get too far. He sighs and helps me strip of my shirt and hands me his own. My eyes widen a bit.

"What? Take it…you're going to freeze."

He pushes it into my hands, but soon he's helping me put it on. Once I'm snug in Sasuke's shirt I close my eyes again.

"Well, man it seems like the bleeding from the back of your head stopped. I don't think it's like split open or whatever, but it's bloody so I don't know what went down there. Um, I'm going to go now, you need anything more?"

"No. Thanks Sasuke."

He turns around and heads for the door. Before it slams shut he adds,

"Sure."

Typical Sasuke Uchiha everyone. But, for some reason that little sure was probably the nicest thing he's done for me, because for the first time in years, his response wasn't "hn."

My dad rushes in moments later and he immediately inspects my wounds.

"Naruto, oh my, what happened to you?!"

I open one eye.

"I'm…ok. Home, please."

My dad carefully picks up my limp body and my wet hair is dripping all over his sleeve. I snuggle into his warm chest and am asleep in seconds.

* * *

Long story short, my dad brought me to the hospital. They stitched up the back of my head, without shaving off my hair thank goodness, and bandaged up my chin and bruises. I ended up having chemo done and then brought home. And now I'm sitting in my bed with my dad rubbing his temples and my mom feeding me chicken soup.

"Ma, I can feed myself."

She forces a spoonful in my mouth. What about that did she not understand?

"Naruto, I know that you will not finish this on your own so I will seat here and spoon feed it to you okay?"

I groan and receive another spoonful. My dad sighs. After my "feeding" my mom kisses my forehead and heads to clean the kitchen. Obviously, my dad will be asking all the questions tonight. He scoots closer towards me and looks me in the eyes.

"Naruto, tell me exactly why you were so badly hurt today?"

I shift in my bed uncomfortably and sigh.

"I got beat up."

My dad's whole face turns red with anger.

"What?! Naruto! Why didn't you get a teacher or call me?"

"I couldn't dad. They beat me up and left me in the shower and then Sasuke helped me and called you."

"Did Sasuke hurt you too? I swear I know you guys aren't friends anymore but if he had something to do-"

"Dad, keyword "helped"."

My dad sighs and rubs his temples.

"Tell me, why were you getting beat up Naruto?"

I shrug.

"It's high school dad. It happens." I say nonchalantly.

Please buy it.

"I don't care if it's "high school" Naruto. Did you do something to anger them? Did they beat you up for no reason? Tell me exactly what happened."

He's getting so worried I feel like he cares more about this than I do.

"Nothing happened dad! I'm alive aren't I? Like I said before, it happens."

He takes a deep breath.

"Answer me young man."

The edge in his voice scares me half to death. He's getting mad and I know better than to make him mad. Especially at me.

"Okay okay. So there's a group of kids at school that don't like me and after the soccer game, which I attended as a fan, they found me in the locker room since I was congratulating Kiba then I was going to go use the toilet. But, they ended up waiting for me to come out of the bathroom and they beat me up and shoved me into the shower. Then Sasuke found me and helped me out then you came. That's it." I say trying to sound confident, but I can't stop my hand from shaking.

That sounds like a believable lie right?

"They beat you up because they don't like you?! Naruto this is ridiculous! Who are they? When they get a piece of my mind for hurting my son…they'll regret ever even thinking about messing with you in the first place."

Oh no, he's going to try and get involved then there's going to be a meeting, a conference, a committee and ugh I don't want to be humiliated!

"No dad! Please don't get involved it's fine. Nothing I can't handle. Trust me."

"Naruto, are you kidding me?! You were almost dead when I came to pick you up! Maybe you shouldn't be going to school anymore. Your condition has just been getting worse and worse." He says nodding his head at his idea.

. No way, I don't want to just sit around at home! He's way to overprotective. I wish he would just not care at all. I grit my teeth and anger bubbles up in me.

"So what?! I'm dying anyways dad. Who knows tonight might be my last night! I have cancer dad! You and mom whisper the word like its taboo, but I have it! Cancer! These are some of my final days with you guys and I can't even cherish them! Mom avoids me like I have the black plague and won't do anything but feed me! And you! You would have me on a leash if you could! People die of cancer dad. I'm dying of cancer!" I am shouting at my own father, but I don't even care anymore.

My dad shifts his weight on the bed and then looks at his lap. His hair covers his face so I'm not sure what he's thinking, but what I said was true! Hopefully he won't throw a fit. I'm preparing myself for an ongoing battle when I see my dad's shoulders shake. Is he crying? He rubs his eyes and grabs my hand.

"Naruto, please don't."

He takes in a deep breath to recollect himself. Oh my gosh this is so serious. He's crying! My dad rarely cries. I feel so awful maybe I took it too far. I think I'm more scared about my dad crying then me dying in a few weeks. The only time I've ever seen him cry was when I was really little and hit my head so hard it was split open. My dad thought it was all over for me.

"You know for a fact, just how much your mother and I care about you. I just…I just want what's best for you. Naruto, I want to make sure that you're eating right, taking it easy, and getting better. I…I don't want to lose you." He takes a quaky breath and looks up at the ceiling. "You're my only child and the thought of losing you makes me…scared. I feel helpless. I have never been in a situation like this and Naruto it's not only hard for you to handle, but it's hard for me too. I'm your dad, it's my duty as your father to take care of you and give you the best…but I just don't know what's best anymore."

A tear rolls down his face and he looks over at me. Man, I didn't know my dad was so hurt over this cancer thing. I never knew he was…scared. Heck! I thought he was handling it fine. He squeezes my hand and chuckles while wiping his eyes. I start to feel tears roll down my own face. Now that I think about it, I don't want to lose my parents either. What will they do without me? How will they manage? I hiccup a little and the tears just won't stop. I don't want to die. I don't want to lose my parents, the only people that have ever loved me and cared about me more than myself.

"Come here kiddo."

Warm hands wrap around my back and I nuzzle into my dad's chest. Hot tears run down my face and I'm shaking. I feel a chin rest on the top of my head and my dad slowly rocks me back and forth just like when I was little. He gently rubs my back and I bury my face deeper into his shirt. Pretty sure his shirt is covered in my tears and snot. I sniffle and my dad just pulls me in closer. I hear the door open and feel arms wrap around my dad and I. I look up and see my mom who has tears running down her face. Did she hear my outburst? I feel even worse and cry even harder into my dad's already soaked shirt.

"Shh, Naruto it's okay." My mom says her voice sounding like a lullaby.

My mom's voice always finds a way to sooth me. I take a deep and shaky breath. I feel her small and gentle fingers brush through my hair. Why is she suddenly acting like this? I thought she resented anything that had to do with my cancer?

"Why mom?"

I barely choke out the question and look up at her. I push away from my dad and lean back on my headboard. I look straight into her emerald eyes and can feel that my glare is intimidating, just like my father's.

"Why do you treat me like I'm already dead?"

I don't think my mom was expecting that. Her eyes widen and she blinks a few times.

"Oh Naruto…"

I clench my fists and try my best to keep the fresh tears that are forming from rolling down my face. How could she just treat me like this? She's my _mom._ I thought she'd be the one comforting and caring, not dad. I bring my knees to my chest and put my head down. What's even happening with my life? I feel comforting hands on my shoulders.

"Naruto…I never meant to ignore you, or push you away. Believe me. I tried so hard to comfort you, but every time I told myself today would be the day, well today turned into tomorrow and I just…blanked. Naruto, I was… no I _am_ scared. Scared at the thought of losing you. Of not having you return home from the hospital one day and hearing the dreaded words from the doctor that you were dead. So, I went into denial. I made myself believe that you weren't dying…I know it sounds selfish Naruto, but I just didn't want to cry anymore. I wanted everything to be normal again." She removes her hands from my shoulders and wipes her eyes. Her figure trembles and my dad rubs her back. It sooths her a little and she continues.

"I'm sorry that I haven't been there for you for the past three weeks. Naruto it's not that I don't love you, or that I'm treating you like you're already dead, I just didn't know how to handle this situation. I didn't know what to say, or how to comfort you because I didn't know what to do with myself."

She envelops me in a hug that I'm so grateful for. I've missed her hugs, I've missed my mom.

"I'm so sorry Naruto."

I wrap my arms around my mother's neck and rest my head on her shoulder. I feel even more awful for thinking my mom hated me. If I already feel awful about having cancer, just how awful do my parents feel about this? I'll die and be dead, but they'll live. They'll live on without me. They'll lose their only child. The only thing they live for.

"It's okay, dad told me you were having a hard time with this whole messed up situation. I…I shouldn't have yelled at you like that to dad. I'm the one that's sorry."

She squeezes me even harder and I take that as an okay. I look up and see my dad, who has tears rolling down his face, smile at me as if to say," Thank you." I smile slightly back at my dad. He comes over and the whole family is wrapped up in another hug. This is a moment we all definitely had to share, and I'm glad we did. I'm…glad I have both of my parents on my side.

* * *

_Tuesday Morning._

I basically rest for the whole weekend to heal from my episode on Friday. I miss first and second period on Tuesday because my mom and dad insisted I have a doctor's appointment scheduled. Granny basically checked me up and told me that I need to rest more and she gave me a few painkillers. Long story short, my condition got worse.

I enter school feeling pretty down. My body is still aching, every muscle tense and ripping in pain, and I have a note from the doctor saying I have cancer…and I have to give this to the nurse. This is going to be so awkward, I don't want pity. I enter the nurse's office and see a few kids in there that I don't recognize. I ignore their stares and head for the nurse's desk.

"Well hello there! So what's got you feeling down today?"

I hand her the note.

"This is a note from my doctor…please don't read it aloud."

I can tell when she finishes reading it because she puts a hand on her mouth.

"Oh my…Naruto I'm so sorry. I will notify the principal for you. I hope things will go well."

She gives me an apologetic smile and puts the note in a file.

"Thank you, have a nice day um…Nurse Rin."

"Thank you, you too."

I walk out and head to my third period class. That went well…hopefully those kids in there won't ask any questions.

I step into Physics half an hour late. Mr. Yamanaka is already ranting about some stupid theorem, and I sneak into my seat.

"Hn, how's that chin of yours?"

Deidara and Suigetsu share a small laugh. I just try to concentrate on what the teacher is saying.

"Don't tell me you went to the doctor's cause of us? Couldn't your mom just kiss the boo boo's away?" Suigetsu says in a mock like tone.

"Hn, nice one Suigetsu. I hope you learned your lesson to stay out of our way." Deidara smirks and then flicks his eraser at me.

I flinch a bit and then glare at him. Why can't they just leave me alone? I'm about to protest and throw a fit when I hear a cold voice speak in a hushed tone.

"You two should really shut up."

We all look behind us to see Sasuke playing with his pencil and giving Deidara an intense stare. His eyes glaze over mine and onto Suigetsu. A shiver runs down my spine. Did Sasuke Uchiha just stand up for me?

"Huh? What's gotten into you Sauce-keh?" Suigetsu says laughing nervously.

Sasuke just shrugs and continues playing with his pencil.

"It's just not cool anymore, I guess."

So bullying me was _cool_ before? Wow.

Deidara is about to protest when the teacher snaps at the four of us. We all turn around and lay our attention on the boring lesson. I feel a buzz in my pocket and pull out my phone. It's a text…from Gaara. Oh geez.

"Hey I kidnapped a girl, come to my car. I'm in the front parking lot."

I'm speechless. I guess Sasuke noticed me tense up because I feel a poke on my shoulder.

"Hey, man you've been all tense for a good minute. You alright?"

Deidara and Suigetsu shoot Sasuke a look full of disgust.

I ignore Sasuke and stand up. My backpack is flung over my shoulder and I head for the door.

"I'm going to the nurse."

"Wait, I need to write you a pass!"

I run out the door and I hear Sasuke shout out to me.

"Hey Naruto, do you need me to walk you to the nurse?"

I don't even turn around. I just plow through the hallways to the front door. I'm trying to save a life! Sasuke needs to stop worrying; he's acting like such a worry wart.

I rush out of school like there's no tomorrow. There is a life on the line! What has Gaara done to this poor girl already? Maybe he's using her as a hostage? Or..or maybe he'll rape her? Once I'm out of school the sound of skrillex pounds through my ears. I immediately see them and race towards the brown pickup truck. Gaara pops his head out the window.

"Hey, over here!"

He motions for me to come over, but I hesitantly make way towards his car.

I see no sign of the girl and start to panic. Is she already dead? I start to picture a dead body in the back trunk and shiver. I might puke.

I slowly sit down in the passenger seat and brace myself for whatever news the mafia leader has to offer.

"Heey! Naruto, glad you could come!"

Suddenly there's a McFlurry in my hand and a McDonald's paper crown on my head.

"I'd like to introduce you to my friend here in the back."

I'm literally expecting a dead body, but instead a blob of pink hair pops out.

"Hey there! I'm Sakura. You must be Naruto…Gaara told me a bit about you on the way here."

I'm a bit speechless and probably look like a fool in my McDonald's paper crown. Sakura giggles a bit when she sees the expression on my face.

"What? Why are you so surprised?" She says in between giggles.

I rub the back of my head.

"Just a bit surprised that three people managed to fit in this old junk."

Nice cover up Uzumaki.

Gaara snorts and Sakura laughs.

Gaara starts the engine and we're off. I notice that the car reeks of a lot of different kinds of food. Probably all those McFlurries he drinks combined and became some kind of scent of their own. Speaking of McFlurries, I take a sip of mine and place my crown on Sakura.

"Looks better on you."

She looks annoyed and waves her hands around trying to shield her head.

"You'll ruin my hair."

She takes it off and hands it back to me. I take it and place it back on her head. We repeat this cycle about five more times. Gaara clears his throat and gives us both a smirk.

"Will you two please stop flirting in my car."

She drops the crown and we both stop our little game. I turn around in my seat and stare at the road. I hear Sakura shift around a bit. The awkwardness settles in nicely. Gaara slams on the brakes and I whip forward. With no seat belt on, it was a struggle to keep myself from having a concussion. Sakura squeals a bit and I hear her fall. I hear some clinking in the back, it sounds like metal against metal. It's dead silent and suddenly Gaara is barking out commands.

"Sakura, I want you to go into the suitcase to your left and grab the waffle maker. Naruto, the pancake mix is under your seat. Sakura, then go into the cooler, it's blue, and grab some eggs, milk, and butter. Also, get a bowl and I have a plastic knife with me right now."

I'm about to question Gaara when I hear the loudest stomach grumble erupt from within him.

"Any day now."

We both scramble to get his ingredients.

He puts the car into drive and when we finally gather all of our things we're on the highway. He forcefully grabs everything from our hands and places it all in his lap. He places the waffle maker in between our seats and plugs into who knows where. He begins pouring the pancake mix into the bowl and the powder gets everywhere. It looks like a white bomb erupted in the car. I begin wheezing while he splashes milk into the bowl, which also gets everywhere. Gaara starts to forcefully mix the batter with a plastic knife. I'm about to reach over and grab the wheel, since he's busy stirring the pancake mix, but stop when I see that he's steering the wheel with his knees. How we're even alive right now, I don't know.

"EYES ON THE ROAD!" Sakura screams on the top of her lungs trying to grab the bowl from Gaara.

"DON'T TOUCH IT YOU'LL MESS IT UP!" They both tug on the bowl.

The car veers off of the road a bit.

"LOOK AT WHAT YOU MADE ME DO? DO YOU WANT TO GET IN AN ACCIDENT?" He rips the bowl out of her hands and continues mixing violently.

My knuckles are white from gripping the seat. The speed limit is a good 55 miles per hour and we're going 75.

Once Gaara finishes stirring he asks Sakura for some butter and an egg. He cracks the egg and throws the shell out the window. That's illegal right? My heart is pounding in my chest. We're going to die. There's a turn coming up and Gaara is screaming that Sakura gave him two teaspoons instead of one teaspoon of butter. Sakura is shouting, which quickly turns into screaming, and as the turn is literally one foot away I launch over Gaara, who's pouring the mix into the waffle maker, and grab the wheel. I turn for dear life and just barely hit another car.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?! I'M GOING TO SPILL THE MIX."

Sakura keeps screaming that we're going to die and I sit back down in my seat. My head is spinning and before I know it I'm vomiting out the window. Sakura starts wheezing because the pancakes are burning and the car is filling up with smoke. Gaara starts screaming that Sakura will get germs all over the pancakes and I'm going into a nervous breakdown. And to top it all off we hear police sirens. I stiffen almost immediately. I've never been caught by the police! This has never happened to me, I've never been a rebel, I've always followed the law, are we going to jail? I'm scared and I can feel Sakura shaking in the backseat. I notice the sunroof opening and Gaara seems to be completely oblivious to the situation. He looks back at Sakura and me, may I mention the fact that he's not even looking at the road. The police sirens are getting louder and louder. What have I don't to deserve this?

"Five bucks I can outrun them."

Gaara floors it. Sakura and I are pressed up against our seats and a scream rips out from our throats. We zigzag, almost run into someone's bumper, and the police sirens only multiply. Gaara's face goes from relaxed to panic because he _finally_ realizes we're going to get caught! He looks back at me and Sakura wide eyed.

"Sakura, see that blanket? Cover yourself in it and stay put." He commands. Sakura quickly tangles herself up in the blanket.

He shuffles around the already beat up car for something. I see that he's holding his hospital ID and he pulls over. While waiting for the cops to come, he flips over the waffles onto his lap and begins to eat.

Three cops come to the window. Gaara slowly rolls what little window is left down.

"Gaara?" The look on the officer's face is of pure astonishment.

"Yo." He gives him a mini salute and continues eating.

"Do you know how much trouble you are in young man? Why are you on the road? Who is this guy in the car with you? And why is there smoke coming out of your car?" The officer is shooting questions.

"I'm making waffles."

We're all going to jail; they might as well handcuff us right now.

Gaara casually shows him his hospital ID while munching on waffles. I'm literally shaking. If we end up in Juvy my parents will kill me.

"My friend here needs to go to the hospital stat. He has cancer and is in dire condition. He needs to be treated as soon as possible. Is it possible for you to escort us to the nearest hospital?"

The officer takes a quick look at me and buys into Gaara's little speech.

"Listen I'm not escorting anybody, but…let this be a warning."

"And let this be a gift." Gaara hands him his half munched waffle and slowly closes the window while making direct eye contact with the officer.

"Looks like I owe you five bucks." He mumbles and we drive at a steady pace to who knows where.

Sakura comes out of the blanket looking completely horrified. I hear her teeth chattering.

"W-what just happened?" She stutters out.

Gaara wipes his hands on his pants and looks at both of us.

"We're going to the mall."

* * *

**Author's Note: **Hey there! :D First off, thanks so much you guys for reviewing and following/faving~ LITERALLY OVER 20 FOLLOWERS AND FAVES! *squeal* hehe maybe that's not big for some people but for me thats...AMAZING! SO THANK YOU. :DD I had so much fun writing this chapter! I love Naruto family fluff so all that hugging and crying was so cute to write. *sniffles up and dies from feels.* And Gaara's part...XD He's literally so unpredicatble it kills me. Hopefully you guys like it too! And please keep in mind this is my first ever story...so like if it's not really that good, please don't be to harsh! I do except criticism and feedback, although don't be mean, just polite and stuff XD LOL, nice use of words there Sophie. *getskicked.* Well, until the next chapter...toodles~


	6. Chapter 6

_1:00 pm. At the mall._

"I think you're the mental patient here." Gaara says crossing his hands in front of his chest.

We ended up driving to the mall in utter silence. I honestly think both of us were too shocked to even question what just happened. I was cherishing the fact that I was still alive! Oh, also turns out I got a text from Sasuke and Kiba, both asking if I was okay. I just responded with a thumbs up emoji and left it at that.

"Me? Oh come on Gaara just try it on!" I say waving around a hot pink sexy cut dress.

We are currently standing in the middle of Macys and I'm trying to get Gaara to try on this dress.

"Why can't we go into the men's section?" He whines.

"That's 'cause we're waiting for Sakura to finish trying on the outfits she chose. Why don't we have some fun?"

I shove the dress in his hands and he jumps away like he just got burnt.

"I don't want to touch it!"

"Gaara it's a dress. It's not going to eat you." I start to laugh.

Never thought Gaara would be afraid of a dress.

Before I can attempt to persuade him further Sakura walks out of her fitting room. Her eyes widen at the dress I'm holding and I see a vein pop.

"I AM NOT TRYING THAT ON YOU PERVERT!"

She whacks me straight in the cheek and I stumble. She rips the dress out of my grip and shoves past Gaara, who leaps out her way not to touch the dress. I rub my stinging cheek. Man, this girl has got some power in her! Gaara snickers at me and follows Sakura. I shamefully trail behind.

"Sakura, it wasn't meant for you! It was for Gaara."

She whips her head around.

"You were going to put that on Gaara?!" She practically gasps.

I notice that she's trying not to laugh, but the corner of her lips slowly rise into a smile. Soon enough she erupts in laughter. Her laugh is contagious, and so I end up laughing as well. Gaara just stands there and rolls his eyes.

"Oh shut it. I'm sure I would have looked great in it."

He walks past us and we follow laughing even harder.

We follow Gaara into FroYo World. He grabs himself a big boy cup and begins to fill it up with just cookies and cream. On top of that he adds crushed Oreos and one strawberry. I look at his cup and then back at mine. His cup is overflowing. Sakura's has a bit of strawberry and mine is filled with mango, but when I said overflowing, I meant that the sides of Gaara's cup have froyo oozing down the side.

His total is 15 dollars.

_15 dollars_ of froyo.

We are casually walking and within five minutes Gaara whips his froyo cup into the trashcan from across the room. And get this, it makes it. Several little kids applaud while Gaara cherishes his fame.

"Don't tell me you finished all of that?" Sakura asks.

"I don't waste food woman. What do you take me for?" Gaara puts a hand on his hip trying to look sassy.

I spit out my froyo laughing. Sakura is batting Gaara's shoulder playfully telling him to stop it before he attracts attention. My eyes glaze over the stores and I see my mom exiting Banana Republic with my dad! They think I'm at school, shoot! I grab Sakura's arm and haul Gaara into the nearest store.

"What are you doing Naruto?!" Sakura asks trying to squirm out of my grip.

"Hey! It's my favorite store!" Gaara exclaims ripping out of my grip and he runs to the underwear section.

With my fingers to my lips I hush Sakura and just let Gaara browse the store.

"My parents are here! They think I'm at school! If they see me I'll be in so much trouble!" I hide behind a manikin.

"Wait, where are they? What do they look like?" She looks out through the store window.

I point a shaky finger at my parents.

"This is bad…just rush to the back and stay there until they're out of view."

She ushers me to the back. I take a glimpse around the store.

We're in an emo store. No wonder it's Gaara's favorite store. A girl with bright green hair and heavy makeup strolls over to us.

"You need help?"

For a scary looking creature, her voice is pretty sweet.

"N-no we're just browsing." Sakura says smiling.

Gaara clears his throat from afar.

"Actually I need help." He comes over with a pair of boxers.

"Is this on sale?"

The lady happily helps Gaara, while Sakura and I pretend to browse around.

Soon the cash register clicks and we see Gaara with a satisfied smile. We make our escape out of emo central and my head and knees starts to hurt. I begin to limp a bit to ease the pain. Sakura and I throw away our froyo cups and we start through the mall again.

"Yo, if your parents are here do you wanna just go somewhere else?" Gaara says swinging his shopping around.

"My head is starting to hurt, I threw up today too, I don't really feel good." I rub my head.

"I have some advil do you want it?" He starts to look for the pills in his pants.

I don't want pills that are buried in Gaara's pants. Sakura notices my disgusted look and comes up with a better solution.

"Maybe you just need to sit down?"

"Oh, we could go to YogiBo. Follow me." He moves in front of us and leads us to the store.

The lady at the cash register greets us. The store is tiny, but it's littered with bean bags. After being seated for a few minutes the lady asks us with annoyance;

"May I help you?"

"No." Gaara firmly confirms. He stares at her until she begins to feel uncomfortable and leaves to the back room.

We sit there in silence and the whole rush of today hits me. Deidara and Suigetu's bickering, the ride to the mall, the police, the pancakes, finding my mom and dad here, and to top it all off I don't even have my pain killers with me. I sink deeper into my bean bag and close my eyes. My headache is pounding and I feel like throwing up. Not to mention the shooting pain in my knees is nowhere near comfort.

"I'll be right back." I hear Gaara get up and exit the store.

"Are you okay?" Sakura asks with worry.

When I don't respond she clutches my hand. I try to give her a firm squeeze but it suddenly becomes hard to scrunch my hand. It's as if all of my bones are acting against me.

"Naruto, please open your eyes."

The pain in my knees is becoming unbearable and I feel like at any given moment they might just pop off. My breathing starts to rapidly increase and soon enough I'm hyperventilating. The room begins to feel small and I start to sweat. I start shaking. My hands are quivering and I can feel my body trying to shut itself down. My breath is caught in my throat and I begin to suffocate. I'm gasping for air and my heart becomes heavy. My lungs become limp inside of my own body. The pain is unbearable, my body is burning. Just when I don't think I can take this pain anymore, numbness overcomes me. My arms and legs are drawn frozen. And just when I think I'm going to die of a heart attack, it dissipates. Regaining control never felt so good before.

I just lay there with my eyes closed and I can finally feel Sakura clutching my hand again. She's whispering.

"It's okay, I'm here."

She takes a shaky breath.

"I'm okay, we're okay, you're okay. Just breathe…just breathe." She says this time with more confidence.

We wait there in silence for a couple more minutes. I open my eyes and wait for my vision to focus. Gaara rushes in and shoves pills in my throat. He hands me a water bottle and commands me to drink. I gulp it down. The cold liquid slithers down my throat.

"What happened? What's wrong with him?" Gaara asks worried.

"I think he had a panic attack or something. I'm not entirely sure." Sakura says and I feel her eyes scanning me.

It's silent while Gaara and Sakura think of what to do next.

"Sakura, help me get him to my car." Gaara breaks the silence.

I feel my left hand pushed against Gaara's muscular neck and my other pushed against Sakura's. The walk to the car is agonizing and I support all of my weight on Gaara and Sakura. My eyes are still closed, and when I open them I'm in Gaara's car.

"You're finally awake." Gaara says looking me up and down.

I struggle to sit up in my seat. Gaara gives me a worried glance, but this time is actually paying attention to the road. I feel a lot better knowing he's focused.

"You had us so worried back there. Here drink this. How do you feel?" She hands me a water.

I don't want to drink it but I do.

"A lot better. Thanks you two." Sakura just smiles and Gaara grunts.

My head still hurts and I try to lean on the window, but Gaara grabs my shoulder and pulls me away from it.

"Don't lean on it. You'll get cut by glass."

I look at the window. It's shattered in pieces, there's blood all over my seat, and the chair fabric is coming off. What even happened here? Ever since that first day that I got into Gaara's car, he never once explained to me why his car is in such bad condition. And I never mentioned it before because…well it's Gaara. He's not really an easy person to talk to. To be completely honest with myself I don't even know Gaara's story. For goodness's sake, he could really be a murderer!

I break the silence.

"So Gaara, how'd you even become a mental patient?"

I look over to see him staring intently at the road. His knuckles are white as he clutches the steering wheel.

"I killed someone."

My blood freezes. I called it! He really is a murder! Sakura covers her mouth with her hands. We both stare at Gaara and wait for him to continue.

He shifts his weight uncomfortably and takes a deep breath.

"I was driving home from looking at colleges; it was about nine at night. We were about fifteen minutes away from home and I was talking to my mom about my scholarship. She was in the passenger seat. You see if I continued to play basketball I would get a full scholarship to any college of my choice. So, this was a pretty big thing to discuss. We were engaged in the topic and I didn't stop at a red light…and…and." Gaara's breath catches and the car slows down.

"A drunk driver slammed into the right side of the car. The car was sent flying and the engine blew up from the impact. My mom outstretched her hands to keep anything from hitting my face. I…I remember looking over at her. Her feet were crushed under the car's fallen dashboard. The fire from the engine was spreading and I quickly undid my belt buckle. I tried to pull my mom out, but she wouldn't move. I tugged and pulled but she wouldn't move." Gaara pulls over onto the grass.

"She was unconscience Blood was oozing down her forehead."

He looks down and I see tears trickling down his face.

"I kept pulling and tugging, but my efforts were put to a stop when fire completely engulfed her. I saw her skin burn, her hair sizzle off her head, I saw my mom burn right in front of me."

He grabs the fabric of his pants and clutches it. Tears are freely pouring from his face. His head whips around and he stares at both of us. Sakura turns pale white, and I'm shocked.

"I killed her!" He shouts.

"She's freaking buried six feet under the ground because of me!" His breath catches in his throat. He looks down and continues.

"My father wouldn't talk to me after the incident. Two days after the funeral, we were still fighting about her death. He was intoxicated. He took out all of his sorrow, his grief, his anger, on me. It was around eleven at night, when he started screaming at me. I screamed back. It was a full on fight. Soon enough he threatened to throw me into the afterlife. I don't get scared easily, but he freaked me out. I didn't know what to do. After, we engaged in a fist fight, I took the fight outside hoping to get away in our family's old car. I already had the keys. My dad nearly knocked me out on the floor and he went to get a bat, a gun, I didn't care. I trudged towards the car and opened the door when my dad saw me from inside; he opened the window, and shot me with a BB gun. The bullet went right through my shoulder and through the two glass windows in the front seat. Barely conscience, I drove myself to the hospital. I was suicidal for a good week. That's why I'm labeled as a mental patient." He takes a deep breath and relaxes a little.

"Gaara, I'm…I'm so sorry. I had no idea. I feel awful for bringing up old memories." I try to say something more, but I don't how to comfort him. I feel useless.

He looks at me and gives a weak smile.

"Remember that morning when we bumped into each other and I drove you to school?" He chuckles and wipes his tears. A sad smile forms on his face.

"I snuck out at night and I bought medicine." He pauses, "I was planning on killing myself by overdose that morning. You indirectly saved my life."

The car engine starts up again and we're on the road.

I am speechless. I saved his life? I literally just used him for my own selfish needs. I take a deep breath and run a hand through my hair. This was way too much for me. The poor kid, he had a life…and he lost it just like me. I slump in my chair. That explains the blood, the ripped seats, the cracks in the windows, and Gaara's condition. Man, I feel so bad. I thought he was a serial killer, but he's just stuck in a hole and doesn't know how to get out.

In silence we drive to the hospital.

"Naruto, I can walk you to your room." Sakura says getting out of the car.

I hear Gaara's door opening and he swings out of the car. Both of them help me to my room in silence. They struggle to put me in bed. When my body is in a resting position the pain in my knees eases and I feel so much better. A nurse walks in and tells me that Granny will be here soon. Gaara takes a seat by the window and Sakura takes a seat next to me. It's so tense and sad. I feel like crying. I don't even have a headache anymore. I feel emotionally drained from what Gaara had just told me. Tears prick in Sakura's eyes as we both look at Gaara. Gaara just looks down and plays with his fingers. Maybe he's thinking that we don't like him anymore. Once again, I feel like crap.

"Since we're all sharing stories and all…I have one." She swallows and looks up at both of us. Tears glaze her eyes. Gaara looks up at Sakura understandingly. I gulp and prepare myself for whatever Sakura has in store for us.

She takes a deep breath and moves the small strands of loose hair away from her face.

"Well, I guess I have to start at the beginning. When I was in elementary school, my dad decided to leave us. My mother was devastated. I didn't realize what was happening, I thought he was going away on a business trip…something like that. Shorty after his departure, my mom fell into depression. It was hard. My mom had to work two jobs and the little time she was at home, she was too tried to hold a conversation with me. I was shoved into afterschool programs, sports, and finally I was pushed into a job. Fast forward, while I was at work, I got call from my aunt…my mom had a stroke and was in the hospital. I rushed out of work and when I got to the hospital the doctor's confirmed that she was in a coma. That was six months ago. I was forced to move out of my house and live with my aunt. I had to switch schools, quit my job, and start over. And in those six months my mom has become so fragile. She's on the border line of this world and the next."

Sakura clenches her fists.

"And in all those six freaking months my father hasn't even called! He hasn't even bothered to call, to visit, to even leave a freaking voicemail! Nothing. I've always had this small hope that I carried around in side of me, that my father actually cared about us. But it vanished. It's gone."

She takes a deep breath and closes her eyes.

"My mom woke up a few weeks ago. I was so happy to hear the news that I rushed here from school. I entered her room with the biggest smile on my face. I was able to have my mom back! But, that happiness soon turned to sorrow. She doesn't remember me…"

I run my eyes across her face. Her eyes are puffy, but no tears are spilling.

"She was diagnosed with amnesia. I come to the hospital every single day to remind my mom who her daughter is. And every day she asks the same question,' Who are you dear?'"

Sakura stops talking and takes a shaky breath.

My heart is in my stomach. After hearing these two stories, my cancer is like a walk in the park. It's nothing compared to what these two have to go through. I feel horrible for complaining about the fact that I have to live for cancer. I feel like a fool for valuing soccer over my life.

I look over at Sakura and see her slouched figure rocking slightly back and forth. Her white knuckles are gripping the sides of her chair. I place my hand over hers and look her in the eye.

"It's okay to cry, Sakura." My finger makes small circles against her knuckles to sooth her.

Her shoulders shudder and she gives in. Gaara leans his head back on the wall and closes his eyes. The look of pure sorrow is washing over his pale white face. I hold Sakura's hand firmly to remind her that I'm here. She places her other hand over mine and shakes her head in between gulps of air.

"I-I'm s-sorry." She manages to say before she erupts in another fit of tears.

My grip on her hand tightens a little. It's my only way of saying "It's okay" right now. I feel useless. No matter how many "it's okay's" Sakura and Gaara receive, it won't change what they're going through. It won't bring Gaara's mom back, it won't cure Sakura's mom's amnesia, it won't cure cancer. The three of us sit there in silence; the only noise audible is the sound of the soft rain.

_Pitter Patter._

* * *

After about ten minutes of silence, someone walks into the room. And she makes quite an entrance.

At the sound of the door opening, Sakura flinches and immediately begins to wipe her tears away. I move my hands away from hers and look intently at the nurse who just ruined the moment. I've seen her before...but I can't put my finger on who she is. Her breathing is heavy, her hair is a brown mess, and she's holding a crumpled piece of paper.

"How do you always manage to find me woman?!" Gaara shouts and gives her an annoyed look.

She breathes heavily and I swear there is smoke coming out of her ears. She walks over to him and sticks the note in his face.

"HOW MANY FREAKING TIMES HAVE I TOLD YOU THAT YOU CAN'T LEAVE THE HOSPITAL WITHOUT PERMISSION?!" She gets right in his face and I'm pretty sure she's trying her best not to smack him.

Gaara just slouches in his chair and shrugs.

"I left you a note."

She undoes the crumpled note and reads it.

"Don't come looking for me. Signed, Gara." She puts her hands on her hips.

"You even misspelled your name! AND DON'T COME LOOKING FOR ME DOESN'T SOUND LIKE A PLACE!"

"I was in a rush."

The brunette is about to fume in anger and probably send Gaara to the next life, when Sakura interjects.

"Matsuri. It's okay, Gaara was just helping out a friend."

Matsuri relaxes a little bit and raises an eyebrow at Gaara.

"You have friends?"

Gaara fixes his posture.

"In fact I do." He points to Sakura and I.

"The blonde kid is Naruto, and the pinkette is Sakura." He says crossing his arms feeling accomplished.

"I know who they are okay? You just can't leave your room without supervision. You're mentally unstable." She recites the sentence like she's said it a million times.

"I think I'm pretty stable if I can drive a car and make my way around town." He fires back.

"Oh yah, about your little adventure, I got a call from the cops. They said something about speeding and waffle making? Ring a bell?" The look in her eyes is fierce and she's literally inches away from smacking Gaara.

I didn't know it was possible but Gaara turns even whiter than he already is.

"Alright, you caught me. I'm sorry, won't happen again." He mumbles the last part.

Matsuri looks satisfied. She relaxes a bit.

"Come on let's go to your room." She extends her hand.

"I can walk by myself." He avoids her eyes and stands up.

"Gaara, please last time you walked by yourself you ran out the hospital lobby." She shoves her hand in his hand and grips it tightly.

A light blush taints Gaara's cheeks as she pulls him out of the room.

Sakura sighs and turns to face her attention on me. I see her lips form a mischievous smile.

"I ship them."

"So hard, so hard." I finish the sentence for her.

The door to my room clicks open. And Granny walks in looking frazzled. Her hair is sticking up and looks as messy as ever.

"Um, I'll see you later I guess." She begins to leave.

"Yeah, come visit me tomorrow. I have chemo in this room."

I kind of don't want her to go.

"Yeah, bye." She exits the room quickly.

A small smirk plays on Granny's lips.

"So, what happened with you today?"

I explain to her what happened at the mall and she does the usual checkup. Turns out I felt the way I did today because I forgot to take my pills in the morning. She scolds me and tells me that my parents are waiting in the lobby.

"Don't forget to take your pills, and you have chemo tomorrow!" She yells as I rush out of the room.

* * *

_Wednesday 1:20pm. Pottery class._

Just one more class and I'm out of here. Thank goodness. The whole pottery room smells like burning clay and it's making me feel kind of nauseous. Great, just what I needed.

After that trip to the mall, my knees have been really stiff. It hurts to walk and even sitting is quite agonizing. But, I didn't bother telling my parents, they worry to much already.

"Hey, Naruto are you even listening?" I turn my attention to Kiba who's clearly annoyed at my lack of attention.

"Sorry, uh what were you saying?" I mutter sheepishly.

He sighs and hands me the sketch he's been working on.

"Well, we're supposed to be making a bowl for this assignment. Here's my sketch. I'm thinking we go with a soup bowl but add some creative swirly fishcake designs." My mouth starts watering at the mention of fishcakes…mmm sounds like ramen to me. Kiba snaps his fingers to get me out of my daydream. "Dude seriously we have to get started class ends in 40 something minutes. We only have to finish the mold and put it in the furnace. Once we're done with that we have the whole period to do whatever." His annoyance is evident, but the hint of excitement twinkles in his eyes. Free perioed is like heaven for Kiba…since he has so much homework. I fix my slouching posture to show I'm all ears.

"Okay, so I'll mold the bowl and you start making small fishcake like figures out of the clay. Make like ten and then we'll see if we need to add more or not. Sound good?" He finishes feeling satisfied with his brilliant idea. I nod and get to work. Let's just say art isn't really Kiba or mine's thing…and my fishcakes might look like utter crap. It's times like these where I envy Sai and his stupid talent. Too bad he's partners with that piece of crap Suigetsu. My fishcakes are coming out sort of good and the bowl Kiba is working on isn't half bad. I get so wrapped up in my work that I don't even notice Suigetsu sit down next to me.

"You haven't showed up to soccer practice since that incident on Friday? What gives…scared?" He puts on a baby face and uses a mocking tone. I know he's just trying to aggravate me, so I shrug him off and focus on my work. He doesn't leave, but instead presses on with questions.

"Not gonna answer me, huh? Oh come on, the whole team knows you suck it's okay to quit. We won't miss you or anything." He says and begins to get up. I can't deal with this crap anymore. I'm about to protest by punching him in the gut when someone beats me to it.

"Suigetsu, knock it off will ya?" A raven haired boy says playfully, but the edge in his voice is crystal clear. Suigestu smirks and shoves his hands in his pockets.

"Hn, what's gotten into you all of a sudden? Naruto and I are just having a friendly chat. Aren't we?"He looks down at me with the fakest smile I have ever seen, even faker than Sai's smile. His shark like teeth glisten and I'm afraid to even look at those things. Sasuke keeps a stern look and just shrugs.

"Nothing, it's just not cool anymore. Let him be." He starts to head back to his seat when Suigetsu stops him.

"Are you and Naruto like friends now? Dude you've been acting really weird, ever since that game on Friday. I mean you sent Deidara and I in there to beat him up, and now you're acting like you haven't been bitter enemies for the past two years. What gives?"He spits the words out and the crease in his forehead deepens. He's frustrated I'm sure of it. I turn to my work and notice that Kiba is staring at me with his eyebrow lifted in confusion. I slump in my chair and try not to attract any more attention. But, Suigetsu and Sasuke are still at it. Kiba intervenes.

"You sent people to beat Naruto up?! Did you not see how sick he was after that game?!" Kiba practically yells in anger. Sasuke's cool composition falls and he looks around the room. All eyes are on him. Karin snorts from across the room and makes her way over.

"Of course he'd do that! Did you see Naruto's gameplay on Friday? He made the team lose, and even if he was sick he could have just gone home. I'm not into violence but he definitely deserved Sasuke is always right, he's a genius."She says with her head raised high and eyes twinkling. She almost looks proud of her little Sasuke. (Who's actually in a relationship). Karin folds her arms across her chest and looks at Sasuke for approval. Sasuke just stands there. His eyes are focused on Karin, but I notice that his mind is somewhere else. He doesn't want to make a scene…he doesn't want to admit his mistakes. Typical.

I continue to make the pathetic looking fishcakes and bite my tongue not to yell at all three of them. Do they not notice that I'm literally a seat away? Kiba pounds his fists on the desk which makes all of my fishcakes jump and completely fall apart. I groan and bury my face in my hands attempting to escape this situation.

"So what he made the team lose?! He was sick and in awful condition! One game won't kill anyone, we still have so many more to play. Karin you're not even on the freaking team." He moves his glare to Sasuke. "And _you._ How could you just beat Naruto up?! You could have been responsible for his death…man did you even see how sick he was?! He could barely stand Sasuke…let alone fight." His voice escalates and the growl at the back of his throat is intimidating. Sasuke's eyes widen as the whole class begins to whisper and Kiba's intent look is so intense that Sasuke might just be burned alive. I look around the room and see that Hinata's face is pale white. Guess she doesn't know her boyfriends true colors, huh? Sasuke tries to remain calm, but I can tell he's nervous as heck.

"I wasn't thinking. I shouldn't have sent them to beat him up, but I was upset that he had done so poorly. I was selfish, sorry." He mumbles the last part and I can tell that just saying all of that took a lot of effort. Everyone falls silent. Sasuke Uchiha doesn't apologize, and especially not in public. The room goes silent and for the first time, in a long time, a certain purple haired girl speaks up.

"I didn't know you had this violent side to you Sasuke?" Hinata says poison seeping into her voice. Sasuke's face turns even whiter and he gulps. Hinata comes over to Karin and all eyes are on her as she maneuvers through the room. "And you missy," She points her finger at Karin and gets in her face," Stop acting like Sasuke is your boyfriend. You do realize he's taken right? Or would I have to makeout with him right in front of you for you to get the hint." She says sweetly, but the evil within her is forming a scary aurora. Sasuke turns bright red at the mention of making out and Hinata takes a deep breath before grabbing her bag and slinging it over her shoulder. She glares daggers at Sasuke.

"We talk about this later."And with that the Hyuga throws a pass down on the teacher's desk and exits the room. I never knew the shy little quiet girl had so much venom inside of her.

Karin looks annoyed, Suigetsu is pretty much crushed, and Kiba looks pissed. Hinata is basically going to breakup with Sasuke now, everyone in the school probably hates my guts, I feel like crap, and to top it all off I'll be dead in like a few weeks. All of the possibilities litter my mind and I realize that's it I can't do this anymore. I feel bile rise up in my throat. All the stress is finally getting to me. I try to swallow it down, as gross as that might sound, and barely choke out an audible sentence.

"Stop…please." My voice sounds so faint and weak. I hate it. I push my chair back and close my eyes. The sudden movement blurs my vision and black dots move around where Kiba is standing. The feeling of faint is itching its way into me. I can feel everyone's gaze follow me as I double over by the waste bin and vomit leaks out of my mouth. My knees make a loud crack and the pain rips through my body. The teacher finally decides to intervene. She tells someone to go find the extra trash bags in the supply closet. Yeah, cause trash bags will definitely fix this hole I'm stuck in. I grip the sides of the trash bin and pull myself up. I look to my side and see Kiba with paper towels. Thank goodness I have one friend in this class. He helps me to my feet and I wipe my mouth with the paper towel. Everyone looks kind of horrified and I can't help but laugh. They're scared that I threw up? Really? Just moments ago they were all against me. Funny how things change.

"Naruto, are you okay?" Kiba asks worriedly.

I rip my hand away from Kiba's grip and lift my eyes to meet the class. Our class is small so pretty much everyone is staring. I wobble over to Suigetsu and his posse and almost fall onto him. He backs away and the look on his face is priceless. I use all of my strength to fire at him.

" No, I'm not okay. I feel like I'm going to pass out at any given moment, my head has been pounding all day, I just threw up in front of everyone, and I have chemo later today in some crappy hospital room, oh and to top it all off I have cancer. So no, I'm not okay. Maybe, it's time everyone finds out, because I don't think I can take this anymore. If I have to live the rest of my life, which probably won't be for too long, getting ridiculed by some idiots I might as well just throw in the towel. I. Have. Cancer. Now leave me the heck alone." I catch my breath and stumble back a little. My knees are barely able to keep me standing up straight.

Suigetsu's eyes widen and I hear a gasp escape from Karin.

"A-are you serious?" He says, his voice shaky.

"Dead serious." Oh the irony. I sit down and try to calm myself. People begin to whisper and I'm just hoping this day will be over soon.

"Loser, you can't be serious. You don't have cancer, please. Like I'll believe that." He laughs a bit and seems to relax.

"Yeah, why aren't you bald?" Karin joins Suigetsu's rampage.

"Guess I'm just lucky." I retort. I really can't win with these two.

She eyes me up and down and backs up a bit, as if to get herself out of this mess.

I really don't have time for this. Kiba comes over and sits down next to me.

"You have cancer? I-I thought you just had the flu or something. Dude, I'm so sorry." The sincerity in his voice makes me feel a little better. But still…

"It's okay, whatever Kiba."

Once people begin to realize the situation I hear questions coming from all sides of the room.

"Wait, are you dying?"

"How long have you had it for?"

"Why didn't you tell anyone?"

"Maybe he's lying…"

That's it. All these questions are flung at me and I just want to escape. I'm in pain, mentally and physically. I feel like I just made the situation a lot worse. I bolt out of the room and run to the parking lot. I spot my car and race over to it, all the questions still ringing in my ears. I burst into the driver's seat. I'm panting, my palms are sweaty, and I feel like crying. Biting my tongue I force myself to calm down, but I can't help the hot tears stinging my eyes. I press down on the bridge of my nose and sigh. Forcing the tears back, I think of a plan. I'm obviously not going home early, I don't want to go to the hospital, and hanging out with Gaara really isn't on my to do list today. I grip the steering wheel and start the engine. I'll just drive around and see where I end up.

Half an hour goes by and I'm walking through the doors of McDonald's. The stench of grease and cigarettes is overpowering. I bat at the air trying to get the scent away, no luck. As I ponder over what to order I hear a familiar voice call my name.

"Naruto? What are you doing here?"

I look over and see a pinkette dressed in McDonald's work attire. Her hair is up in a messy bun and she looks exhausted.

"Sakura?" I say in surprise. Since when did she work here? She rolls her eyes at my surprised tone.

"Yes it's me. Now, are you going to order or not?" She raises an eyebrow and leans on the counter. I awkwardly laugh and place an order.

"Just a McFlurry please."

…since when did I order McFlurries?

"Coming right up!" She says her voice bubbling with that fake cheery tone. She punches in the order and I hand her the money.

"Since when did you work at McDonalds?"

She sighs and puts the money in the cash register.

"Well, I need money so I have a job." She states as a matter of fact. I get the hint that she doesn't want to explain further and I leave her to get my order. I watch her fill up my drink. Just by her body language I can tell she's absolutely exhausted. The back of her neck is a bit damp and her hair is sticking to it. Poor girl…how long has she been working for? She finishes pouring the rest of the content into the cup and hands it to me.

"Here you go. Have a nice day." She smiles at me. I look behind me and see that there is no one else in line.

"Hey, Sakura…do you want to sit down with me? You look exhausted."

She sighs and wipes her brow. She looks a little...relieved.

"I guess so. I can take my lunch break now." She takes off her apron and yells to no one in particular that she's taking a break. We move to a booth by the window. Once we sit down I notice Sakura basically slumps in the chair. She relaxes immediately and smiles at me.

"Thanks for this. I don't know how much longer I could handle standing there." She crosses her legs and rests her head on her propped up hands. I return a small smile and rub the back of my head.

"Well, you looked absolutely exhausted…figured you'd need a little break. But, what are you doing working at this time? Shouldn't you be in school?" I take a sip of my McFlurry and raise an eyebrow at her.

"I'm homeschooled. So I can just do my assignments after my shift." She shrugs and shifts her weight. Homeschooled? That's actually sweet.

"I'm jealous." I pout and she laughs. "Trust me, you don't want to be homeschooled by my aunt. She's the most intense person you will ever meet." She fake gags and we both laugh a bit.

"You should meet my dad. When it comes to school work he's way to serious…and my lack of intelligence doesn't help." I laugh nervously remembering all the past memories of him shoving math books into my hands and making me read them and recite every single equation fifty times in front of him. Yet, I still came home with my highest grade being a C. Let's just say I didn't see my phone for a good month.

I slirp my McFlurry. I enjoy Sakura's company. She's a sweet girl and doesn't think my cancer is some sort of taboo. She's actually really pretty, now that I can take the time to look at her. The first time I met her all I could think about was not getting killed in Gaara's car. I shiver at the thought of that day. She notices my expression and raises an eyebrow.

"You okay?" She's trying to play it cool, but I can see she's worried I'm having another panic attack.

"Yeah, just thinking about the first day I met you…and that car ride." I scrunch up my nose and continue slurping.

"Oh, yeah that was really something." She shakes her head and we both try to force the memory out of our minds.

"So, Sakura, I was thinking maybe we should hangout tomorrow." I say grinning.

"Hmm, I'll have to check my schedule…." She says holding out the sentence and pursing her lips. She notices my look of disappointment and laughs. "I'm just joking, I'm free. What are we going to do?" She asks tilting her head to the side. Her hair falling onto her face a little and her forehead crease intensifies a little as she thinks of a plan.

If that's not the cutest thing I have ever seen I don't know what is.

I clear my throat and shuffle for ideas. "Why don't you just come over? I'll invite Gaara and Matsuri too since the more the merrier right?"

"Yeah, that doesn't sound too bad. Okay, so I'll see you tomorrow?" She says sliding to the end of her seat.

"Um, wait Sakura can you give me your number?" I ask sheepishly. She smiles at my sudden shyness and grabs my phone. After punching in the numbers we say our goodbyes and with that she leaves and returns to her shift. I can't help but feel really excited about this whole thing. I haven't had friends over my house in years, ever since Sasuke ditched me. Well, besides the occasional hang out with Kiba, but it was usually at his place or the mall.

I exit McDonald's and head to the hospital not realizing that the whole time she was giving me her number the slightest hint of red was plastered on her cheeks.

* * *

**Author's Note: **Hey hey hey! :D omg you guys are spectacular...honestly all the amazing reviews really help me sooo much! I'm really glad to see you guys are taking a liking to Gaara! xD I know he's a bit OOC but I think his character is funny and I love writing all the crazy spotaneous things he does. And so I've been doing my research on the type of Cancer Naruto has. Hopefully I'm doing a decent job with it, it's very difficult as I'm writing from someone with no experience. Sorry if it's not on point! Alsoo any suggenstions for the next chapter? I'm kind of in a pickle as of what to write. Until next chapter...toodles~


	7. Chapter 7

The nurse hooks me up to an IV and I groan. The whole needle in my vein thing really doesn't do it for me. She tells me the usual; don't move, stay here for an hour, I'll be back once it's over. When she exits I grab my phone and text Gaara to come over here with Matsuri. Ten minutes later, Gaara is leaning on the wall and Matsuri is hovering over my bed asking me why I called them here.

"So, why exactly do you need me here?" She puts a hand on her hip and raises a brow.

"Well, Sakura and I planned to have a small get together this Thursday night. I have a teacher's workshop Friday so no school…you guys wanna come?" Gaara's eyes immediately light up.

"Yes. I will be there. Anything to get away from this place." He stares at Matsuri. "But, why does she have to come?"

"Well, she's friends with Sakura, and I don't want Sakura to be alone without a friend." I try to reason with Gaara.

"I'm her friend." He states.

He's like a two year old I swear.

"I'm coming." We all look over at Matsuri.

"No you're not." Gaara shoots back. She turns around and meets his eyes.

"Naruto invited me too, so I'm going to come." She says it like she's explaining it to a two year old… A two year old with a murderer's aurora.

"Can't get enough of me, eh?"

"It's my job. And it would be nice to just take a break from this job and have some fun for once." Gaara opens his mouth to say something, but Matsuri beats him to it." And no, taking care of you is everything but fun." Gaara's head falls in defeat. "I'm loads of fun." He mutters and Matsuri's left eye twitches. Before someone gets hurt, I decide to intervene.

"Okay awesome! So I'll give you guys the time and address once I ask my parents."

"So this isn't even official?" Gaara mutters from the corner of the room.

"It will be! My parents will definitely agree." I say trying to defend myself.

"Text me the deets." Gaara says and heads out the door.

Matsuri follows, trying not to lose sight of him.

I can hear them arguing in the hallways.

"STOP FOLLOWING ME! I'M GOING TO THE BATHROOM. HA CAN'T FOLLOW ME THERE! I WIN THIS ROUND."

I laugh. Oh, they're hopeless.

* * *

My mom sets the food down on the table. She cooked roast beef, with shining gold potatoes, and oozing gravy. Looks delicious and I can't wait to dig in. My dad says a small grace and we begin to eat. I take small bites hoping that my stomach will be okay with it. I feel kind of queasy after chemo so hopefully I won't have a night time date with the toilet tonight.

"I have a question to ask you guys." I say in between bites.

"Don't eat with your mouth full Naruto." My mom scolds pointing her fork at me. I chew before speaking again.

"Sorry. But, I want to know if tomorrow I can have a few friends over?" I say wiping my mouth with a napkin, proving to my mom that I have manners. The room goes quiet and my mother sighs.

"Naruto, I understand you want to have friends over…but we're busy tomorrow." She says quickly obviously lying at being busy. I groan.

"Mom, we aren't busy tomorrow and we all know it." I say matter of factly and take a nibble of my roast beef.

"No is no, Naruto." My mom says firmly and resumes eating her dinner.

"But, why not?" I whine. My dad takes in a breath and glares daggers at me.

"Naruto please look at yourself! You barely managed to make it down the stairs today, you've been limping for quite a while now and yes I know for you it's walking, but it's obviously painful. You throw up every meal you eat, you nibble at your food and say your full, and whenever you come home from school you collapse on the couch and don't move until I carry you upstairs. I understand that you want to continue living your life like you used to, but I think you've gone too far. Naruto you're sick, and not just with a flu, but you have cancer. I know for a fact that you have been overdoing it, I got a call from your soccer coach the other day. I wanted to drop the topic and not bother with it, but you seriously need a wakeup call! How could you participate in soccer knowing that you have bone cancer?! Naruto no wonder your state has weakened! You need to start taking better care of yourself, unless you're asking for death." He practically yells and my mouth drops open.

He found out that I did soccer?! I start to nervously look at my father and mother. My mother nods in agreement with my dad. My dad then pushes his chair back and proceeds to clean his dishes. I push my chair back as well, and wobble to the stairs. I'm halfway up the stairs when my knees give out on me and I grip the railing for dear life.

"Naruto, you okay?" My mother shouts worriedly from the kitchen.

"Never better!" I yell sarcastically and pull myself to my feet. The bitter pain in my sore knees is making the walk up the stairs agonizing. I stumble to my room and I collapse on the bed, panting and sweaty. As I lay there staring up at my white ceiling I take into thought what my dad said, he is right. My bones have started to ache more, and soccer definitely did not help my condition. What was I thinking? I guess I wanted to fit in, and deny the fact that I have cancer. I think I did soccer because I wanted to force myself to believe that cancer couldn't get in my way. I forced myself to plaster a smile on my face and hide my pain so that I could continue living a normal life. That's why I went on mall a trip, that's why I forced myself to try out for soccer, that's why, well the list is endless. But, I guess cancer is really getting the best of me.

I curl up into a ball on my bed, and lay there for a good while letting my thoughts get the best of me. I hear someone come into my room and my bed shakes slightly as someone sits down. Warm hands pat my back.

"Naruto, why don't you get ready for bed?" My mother says sweetly. I nod my head into my bed sheets and struggle up. A sigh of relief escapes my lips once I've managed to sit up and not fall over from exhaustion.

"I can manage myself mom. Goodnight." I say and give her a nod. She doesn't budge and places my left arm over her shoulder.

"Come on, I'll help you to the bathroom."

As we walk to the bathroom, my knees crunch and crack. The bitter pain of bending them is excruciating and I put most of my support on my mom's lean shoulders. We both head into the bathroom where I brush my teeth and get ready for bed. She helps me into bed and I relax once the warm sheets sink into my figure. My mom kisses my forehead and heads out the door. She's a lifesaver. Once she's gone I reach for my phone and text Gaara, Matsuri, and Sakura.

**N: **Hey you guys, it's Naruto. I have to cancel tomorrow's plans, sorry. I'm not feeling too well.

**M&S: **Feel better Naruto!

**S: **JINX MATSURI!

**M: **JINX SAKURA!

**N: **haha thanks you guys

**G: **Lies Uzumaki.

**N: **…

**G: **Three dots?

**N: **umm

**G: **I'm being sarcastic.

**N: **Why am I not surprised

**G: **I'll see you at chemo Friday. Get better.

**M: **Oh no you won't you're staying in your room.

**G: **I swear my nurse treats me like a caged animal.

**N:** Well goodnight you guys!

I click my phone off before an argument begins and roll over in my bed. Hopefully I can get a goodnight's rest.

It's around 4:30 am that I wake up feeling bile rise up in my throat. I throw off my covers and force my aching feet to race to the toilet. I'm doubled over, vomiting up my previous meals. I hear the door to my bathroom open, and the lights flicker on. Long strands of red hair come into vision and there is a hand on my back. She yells to my dad to get a cold towel and keeps rubbing circles on my very sweaty back. Once I'm done vomiting she cleans up my mouth and tells me to rinse with mouthwash. I do as she instructs and my mom leads me to the bed. She takes off my sweaty shirt and pulls a new one over my head. I don't argue and in the next 30 seconds I'm wearing new pajamas and there is a cold towel on my head. I hear questions being asked, but am way too tired to respond. I just mumble an, "I'm fine." And I feel lips press against my forehead. My dad just pats my leg gently and they're off to their room. I fall asleep, knowing I have to get up in about two hours and get ready for school. Ugh.

* * *

_Thursday, second period._

I'm sitting in one of the stalls in the boy's bathroom trying to keep myself from punching a hole in the wall. I can't take it anymore. During my first period class, the minute I walked in people fell silent and just stared at me. It was a pretty uncomfortable situation. I heard whispers saying, "He has cancer right?" or "I thought he was dying…why is he in school?" So I just sat at my desk trying not to make eye contact with anyone. I saw Suigetstu steal some nervous glances at me, but when I looked over, he immediately looked away. Guess he felt bad for ridiculing me. Karin on the other hand, sat as far away as possible from me. It's like she thinks I'm contagious. When I walked by her desk she froze and I heard her hold her breath. What an idiot. And to top it all off, Kiba won't even talk to me like he used to. I guess it's hard to be friends with someone who's supposed to die any minute. The only real appreciation I get from him is small chat and those eyes beaming with pity. He can't even keep a solid conversation without zoning out or making sure he's not too close to me. Come to think of it, I see those eyes everywhere I go and I despise it. I'm not dead, so they shouldn't treat me like I'm a walking ghost.

So, that's why I'm sitting on the toilet lid trying to keep myself calm. I am literally such an idiot. Why did I even bother to tell anyone that I have cancer…I was doing so well too. Keeping it a secret and all. I run a hand through my rough hair and notice that it's getting a lot shorter. Come to think of it, I haven't been paying much attention to my appearance now a days, so maybe I really am going bald. That's just what I need. I slouch over and bang my fists on my thighs. Why did I have to get cancer? Sure they don't know the cause, but why me? I lived a pretty good life. I'm always nice to people, I didn't really cause any problems, my grades are decent, and…and…I…I don't deserve this. I don't freaking deserve this. I dig my finger nails into my thighs and clench my teeth. I feel the skin on my thighs begin to tear and my finger nails are bent. This is ridiculous, what am I doing? I shoot up and slam the stall door open. I don't need to pity myself, whatever.

I head to the sink and splash cold water on my face. I don't even bother to look into the mirror, I probably look ugly as heck. I walk out of the bathroom and head out the school doors. I can't go back to school, not after what happened today. I hear a teacher yell at me, but I ignore him and limp through the school parking lot. Once I'm in my car I check the time. 10:30 am. Gosh, I just want nighttime to come already. I start the engine and head somewhere where I can find company.

The door jingles when I limp in.

"Hello, Welcome to McDonald's may I…Naruto?"

She's confused to see me here and blows away a strand of hair that's crept its way onto her slim face. I walk towards her and dig both of my hands into my pockets. She puts a hand on her hip.

"Are you skipping school?" She practically hisses. "You can't do that!" A finger is waved in front of my face and I pretend to bite it. She pulls away and gives me an annoyed glare.

"I'm not skipping school…well maybe." I give her a sly smile and she whacks me with a handkerchief. I move out of the way and she pouts. "But, I just don't think I'll be going to school anymore…" My eyes trail the counter, making sure I don't meet her eyes.

"Is it the…cancer?" She asks afraid to say the word. I stop shifting my weight from one foot to the other and it's as if my world freezes. It's _all _because of the cancer. I thought I had a good survival rate…I thought things were getting better and not until now I realize that things are just getting worst. I've lost a huge amount of weight, I'm unable to exercise, I can't even eat a proper meal without vomiting. For goodness's sakes, I'm really dying. I signed up for soccer, which reduced my survival chances even more. I am such an idiot I literally hate myself.

I grab the counter with both hands and take raspy breaths. The thought of death rings in my head and I feel my legs numb. I stare at my hands with widened eyes and try to push the thought away. Will I die? Will I freaking die at the age of sixteen? No. I want to live longer, and Granny hasn't told me it's all over yet. Or is she hiding it from me? All these thoughts distract me from noticing when Sakura grabs my hand and rubs small circles with her thumb. Her soft skin feels foreign against my rough hands. I feel hot tears rolling down my face. Was I crying? I quickly wipe away my tears that I hadn't even noticed were spilling. I take in a deep breath and look up at Sakura who has a worried expression on her face.

"Naruto, I'm so sorry." She apologizes and her voice seems to somehow sooth me. I calm down and realize I must be holding up the line. I pull my hand away from hers and move to the side. She blinks at the sudden movement and realizes why I had done it. Quickly, she takes off her apron and tells someone she's going on a quick break. The girl next to her looks me up and down and nods to Sakura. She thanks her and rushes over to me. Taking my hand she leads me to a booth and we both sit down. The relief of letting my legs rest feels amazing, and I lean my head back.

"Thank you Sakura." I say taking a deep breath and closing my eyes. "I kind of panicked back there. But I feel much better now." I add so that she won't have to worry too much. I notice her posture relax.

"I didn't mean to bring that up…I wasn't really thinking." She apologizes and looks at her own hands.

"It's not your fault, I just…realized that I actually might be-" I barely choke out the word."Dying." I run a hand through my hair nervously and let out a breath. The air between us becomes tense and I feel bad for dragging Sakura into my depression like state.

"Naruto…" She tries to look for something to say, but nothing comes.

"It's okay, I shouldn't think like that. Don't worry Granny is a great doctor!" I say putting on my million dollar grin. "I don't know what's gotten into me." I say a little quieter. Sakura pushes her hair out of her face and grabs my hand tightly.

"You're going to be okay Naruto. I know it." She says sternly, and her grip on my hand intensifies. Her eyes are serious; she really means what she's saying. "Okay?" She loosens her grip and her hands lay, almost like feathers, in my hands. I'm shocked at the sudden concern and genuine care.

"Okay." I say confidently and she relaxes smiling. I can't help but smile back. Her smile is just, contagious. We sit there for a little while just enjoying each other's company and trying to believe the words that were just exchanged. And for some reason I feel like maybe, just maybe, everything will be okay.

_8:30 pm. _

I've been standing shirtless, looking into my bathroom mirror for a good thirty minutes now. I can't even recognize myself. My skin is snow pale. So white, you could roll it up and make a snowman out of me. It looks translucent, like glass. My eyes are baggy and it looks like I haven't slept for days, which is partially true. My ribs poke out of my dying skin. My arms look like sticks and the skin around my elbows kind of just sags a bit. The six pack I worked so hard to achieve looks foreign along my boney stomach. The glistening glow my flesh used to have is now pale and looks sick. I feel like a skeleton. My jaw bones are prominent and I feel disgusting. And on top of that my hair is a ton shorter than it used to be. How could someone possibly like me, if I look like this? I put on some bronzing lotion, which actually helps give my skin back the glow it used to have, and I race to my mom's bathroom to look for some concealer. I am well aware that I am a boy, but with baggy purple eyes like these I couldn't possibly show myself. Actually it's been awhile since I looked into a mirror…did I look like this all the time? I shove the concealer on and rub it in until it looks somewhat natural. I'm not even going anywhere tonight, but I want to look good for my own satisfaction. I move over to my dresser and throw on my comfiest pajamas. It is the first week of October, so fuzzy socks feel appropriate.

I stand before the mirror examining myself. I look pretty decent. The bronze lotion definitely did the trick and the concealer…could be better but not too bad. Oh who am I kidding? I look like a corpse. I fix my pajama shirt a bit and head downstairs. My parents are sitting on the couch watching a movie and I sit down on the smaller sofa to the left of them. Halfway into the movie I get a text from…Hinata. My heart flutters as her name pops up on my screen. Okay, I know I told Sasuke I'm over her, but some part of me still kind of likes her. I mean, if you like someone since birth, it is pretty hard to just let them go. I open the text and read.

**H: **Hey Naruto. I know we don't talk much, but how are you?

I can't help, but get giddy. My eyes light up and I smile a bit.

**N: **I'm good, how are you?

**H:** Doing well. I'm so sorry to hear about your cancer. :(

**N: **Oh that? Don't even worry about it, I'm doing much better!

Okay, maybe not much better, but I want to have a solid conversation. I've heard enough about my cancer.

**H:** That's good news! I'm really sorry about the way Sasuke treated you…it must have been hard on you.

**N: **It's okay.

This conversation is becoming some kind of pity talk. I shift my weight in my chair and begin to feel kind of annoyed. Can't she just talk to me about something else?

**H: **Yeah, so I know this might sound kind of blunt, but Sasuke told me that you used to like me and we're kind of in an argument now. Do you maybe want to hang out?

My eyes widen at the text as I read it carefully about ten times. She just wants to hang out with me because her and Sasuke are in an argument…and because she feels bad about my cancer. I'm now really annoyed. This is the girl I've been crushing on for the longest time now, and when I'm about to die she uses me as a rebound. Maybe Hinata Hyuga isn't the shy, sweet, little girl I fell for.

**N: **Is this some kind of joke?

**H: **Of course not! Why would you think that?

I punch in my next text, my anger rising.

**N: **Because you've never once reached out to me, and I'm sure I wouldn't be your next pick for a rebound. Are you only doing this out of pity? Did Sasuke make you do this?

The little iMessage bubble pops up a few times and then disappears. I put my phone down and wait for a reply that doesn't come. It was obviously set up, Hinata would never just reach out to me by choice. She's been avoiding me ever since Sasuke started dating her. To be completely honest why do I even try with Hinata anymore? She's obviously not into me, what's even the point of trying to chase after her. I don't need a girlfriend, I should be more focused on getting better than getting a girl.

I get up from my chair and almost fall over. The pain in my knees is really becoming unbearable these days. My dad shoots up from the couch and races over to catch my limp body.

"I'll help you up the stairs." I climb onto his back and he carries me up the stairs. He sets me down on the bed and I realize that I'm still wearing all of the lotion and concealer. My dad sits down on my desk chair and examines my face.

"Are you wearing your mother's makeup?" He asks raising an eyebrow. A small smile creeps up and forms on his lips. I flush in embarrassment.

"Well, I mean I've been looking like a dead corpse these days, so I thought maybe I could try and hide my flaws." I say feeling the redness in my cheeks fade. My dad blinks a few times in surprise at my response.

"I'm going to go wash this off." I say struggling to stand on my feet. He's about to help me, but I swat his hand away and make way to the bathroom door. Once I'm in the bathroom I lean my hands on the sink and take deep breaths. Okay, this whole walking thing is really becoming difficult. I splash cold water on my face and rub the makeup so that it comes off. It's a lot harder than I thought and I end up destroying one of my towels. It's plastered in brown concealer and bronzer lotion. I toss the towel in the waste bin. No one will know. When I'm finished I head back into my room and fall into my bed. The pain in my knees eases and I immediately relax.

I have a difficult time falling asleep that night. I can't help, but think about what just happened earlier today. I mean, Hinata texted me. Hinata Hyuga. I thought I'd be all happy and excited after finishing our conversation, but I feel disappointed, a bit crushed actually. I always thought that she would be sweet and caring, that after hearing about my cancer she'd be the one to hold my hand, to visit me, to aid me, to just be there. But, she just pities me like everyone else and doesn't look at me as a person, but at the cancer that's eating at me. When I went to school today, everyone was afraid. Afraid that at any given moment I could burst and the ambulance would have to come and stick tubes in me so that I wouldn't die, even my best friend was afraid to get near me. And Hinata didn't even look me in the eyes today at school. She just pretended that I wasn't there. I've been chasing a girl that's been avoiding me and doesn't have the slightest interest in me. Why did I not realize this sooner?

I push Hinata out of my mind. I don't like her, I won't like her. She doesn't care about me; if she cared she would reach out to me before I had cancer.

I fall asleep, hoping that Hinata scoots her way out of my mind.

* * *

**Author's Note:** Hey fellow readers! So hopefully y'all like this chapter. I read through some of the reviews and revised my story. Thanks for the tips, really helped me set my story straight and helped smooth out some rough edges. I know I made Hinata sound like a jerk, but Sasuke is desparate to make Naruto happy (I mean come on he's been being so mean to him, he's like trying to make it up to him by letting him become close with Hinata). It's like the least Sasuke can do since he thinks Naruto's gonna die. So that's why Hinata is asking him to hang out and stuff, and obviously was forced into it by her boyfriend. And that also was the reason Naruto decided to just end his love for Hinata. Like he wasn't really into her too much but this event just put all that to an end. Like omg we can finally get some narusaku love going! xD Also, sorry that this chapter is so short. School has started and I'm more busy than ever...so no more freakishly long chapters. Probably when I'm on break I'll write more and this weekend is a long weekend so I might have another chapter up before Tuesday. Well that's all I have to say for now. Once again, this is my FIRST STORY, so please don't be too harsh in the comments. I'm trying to improve with each chapter (which hopefully is somewhat noticeable) so like tips are good but don't be rude. It honestly ruins my mood so if you have critism or something be polite, please. And if you don't like this story, I totally respect that, just read it hate it and move on. Okay, now I'm off. Until next chapter, toodles~


	8. Chapter 8

_Friday 3:30 pm._

I'm sitting in my hospital bed with a needle stuck in my arm and a pinkette ranting about her day at work. She's really on a roll and I know better than to interject on her story.

"Isn't that just ridiculous?! I mean if you ordered a number one you can't lie and say you ordered a number three!" She says getting angrier just thinking about it. I try my best to act mad as well and agree with her, but it's pretty hard. I try so hard to keep the smile from forming on my lips, but it slips on anyways and she gives me a betrayed look.

"You think this is funny? I was frantically running around trying to keep this darn guy calm." She says annoyingly and playfully hits my shoulder. I raise my arms up in defense.

"Come on Sakura, the way you're telling the story is actually hilarious."

"If you were there in person you'd understand." She says rolling her eyes.

I look at the needle in my arm and sigh heavily. Before Sakura came in Granny was telling me that the chemo is really starting to work well and that my condition should start to gradually increase, but I feel like she was hiding something. I'm definitely far from feeling better and every time I come for more chemo I feel the same after. No improvement. Sakura pokes my cheek which awakens me from my gloomy thoughts.

"Stop looking like you just saw a puppy die." She says concerned. I give her a sheepish smile.

"Sorry, Sakura. It's just, I feel like this chemo is doing nothing for me. I mean it's been four weeks and I'm just getting worse. What if I was diagnosed to late, and I really am going to die? There's only two weeks left…" I stop talking and shudder at the thought. Two more weeks, and I've accomplished nothing with my life.

"But, why think like that?" She says not meeting my eyes, but instead looking out the window. "Sure, cancer can eat you up and take away everything physical, but it can't eat your heart, it can't take away your soul." She turns to me and pokes my heart. "You haven't lost yet you know?" She smiles at me. "Don't give up, okay?"

I shift my weight. Sure, she's right, I'm not dead yet, but how can I keep fighting if I feel like I've already lost.

"That's easy for you to say. Sakura, I really don't know if I'm going to pull through with this cancer." My voice cracks and I get kind of irritated. Her face falls a bit, but the sparkle in her eye does not deflate.

"You never know, cancer is unpredictable sometimes."

I snort and look her right in the eyes. Like she knows, cancer is unpredictable, but so unpredictable that I'll end up dead tomorrow. I'm kind of fed up with people telling me that I'll be okay, when I don't feel any better. In fact, I feel a ton load worse.

"How would you know?" I ask kind of annoyed. "How the heck would you know?" My voice raises and the words spit out," You have no clue, that's right. You don't know what it feels like, to be on your deathbed! To be pitied on by people that are just waiting for you to die, Sakura you can't even relate to my situation! I'm dying Sakura. Do you know what it feels like to die? No you don't! I can't walk up a flight of stairs without gripping onto the railing for dear life, panting, sweating, and crying out for help. I'm losing my hair, I'm practically bald. And you sit here telling me not to 'give up.' Heck, I can't even bother to live a normal life, I can't eat a meal without vomiting, I can't hang with my friends, I can't go to school, for goodness's sakes I can't even be a human being anymore. I'm a corpse that's been molded back into a living body. I'm a walking zombie." I scream losing control of my cool. I'm throwing out all of the rage that has been building up for the past four weeks. Everything I've been hiding behind my composed behavior and fake smile.

"Naruto, I-" She begins, but I'm too fumed to even let her speak.

"Sakura I really don't care, honestly, I don't care what you have to say to me. I don't care." I say shaking my head.

"What's gotten into you all of a sudden?" She screams at me. I scream back louder.

"Oh my gosh. Just shut up and leave me alone."

She bites her lip. I take a deep breath, my body shaking trying to contain the rage that's fuming inside of me.

"Naruto, there have been thousands of people to have cancer before you. There's been thousand of-" I cut her off.

"I don't deserve it." I mutter under my breath.

"Excuse me?"

I literally erupt with anger.

"I don't freaking deserve it!"

She fires back at me.

"And you think those other people did?!"

"I don't care about the other people. It's not my problem. Not my freaking problem."

Sakura falls silent and quietly says.

"Naruto, you still have a chance. You've been receiving chemo, you've gotten plenty of bed rest, you've-"

"If my treatment is going so well, then why am I getting crutches today because my feet are as good as toothpicks?!"

"What?"

"Yeah, guess what. I'm getting wheel chaired out of this room to the front lobby where I will receive my crutches. And people tell me I'm getting _better."_

We just stare at each other locked in an intense gaze. Sakura breaks the silence.

"You know Naruto, sometimes it's better to be dead than to live a miserable life."

"Yeah, but-"

"No, it's my turn to talk now. If you survive your cancer, you'll go back to your friends, your family, your good life. And if I had cancer and survived I'd go back to living in my aunt's basement, paying my aunt rent because my aunt doesn't view me as her niece but as a tenant. My mom doesn't even know me and is going to die anyways. I have a father who I don't even know, who I can't even trust. I work a filthy job at McDonald's six hours day for so little pay. I can barely afford my rent let alone buy myself nice clothes. I can barely take care of myself let alone my sick mom. My life is a disaster. And what's the point of living another fifty years of this. And people tell me that it will only get better. But guess what. Life isn't like that."

She takes a deep breath to recollect herself.

"And I'm sorry for caring about you. If I knew that you didn't want my company I would have left long ago. I even left my shift and made someone else take it so that I could come visit you during your chemo. I used the excuse 'I'm going to see my mom.' I genuinely cared about you. Were all my efforts to come here really a waste?"

"No Sakura their not a waste, it's just that-"

"Then don't give up. When life gives you lemons you make lemonade right?"

She returns to her cheery self and gives me a warm smile. Her smile melts my cold heart, if that's even possible, and I get that bubbly feeling inside of me.

"Yeah, that's right." I mirror her smile and it feels like all that fighting from before has withered away. It's what I'm growing to love about Sakura. I just yelled at her and yet she finds the good in me and brings it out. No one has that effect on me, but she does. And gosh that smile.

I swear it's so perfect it could cure cancer.

* * *

"No."

I'm sitting up on my bed tugging my arms away from Gaara's grasp.

"Gaara there is no way that I'm letting you wheel me around in that wheel chair." I tug my arms out of his grip and hide them under the covers. He groans and literally picks me up bridal style. All that's running through my mind is that this is so messed up, and the fact that Sakura is just staring at us her face turning bright red. Before we know it she bursts into a fit of laughter and my cheeks become the color of Gaara's hair. He drops me in the wheel chair and when the nurse walks in and starts to wheel me away Gaara literally KO's the nurse. She falls, lifeless but not dead, onto the floor. Sakura gasps and I can feel my blood freezing.

If Gaara wheels me I'll end up like that nurse, but I'll actually be dead.

"Gaara you can't just do that!" Sakura screams at him. Gaara shrugs her off and wheels me out of the room. I whip my body around to face Sakura, who's trying to wake up the nurse, and mouth a "help me." She gives me a thumbs up and helps the dizzy nurse up. If this is her take on revenge for my outburst on her I will expect her to have a very well planned speech at my funeral.

"So Uzumaki, you ever tried wheeling down the stairs." Gaara says a mischievous grin playing on his lips. I turn cold.

"You wouldn't dare." I say slightly panicking. "And who even let you wheel me around?! Shouldn't the nurse do it."

"I do what I want." Gaara says pushing me a bit faster. He wheels me to the stairs and we stop at the top.

"I'll meet you at the bottom?" He says and pushes me forward. My whole entire life literally flashes before my eyes. But, instead of letting go he whips the chair back towards him. My knuckles are white from gripping the sides of the wheel chair and my teeth are chattering. Gaara's head pops into my view.

"You really don't trust me do you?" His laughter echoes in the small stairwell.

"If I could stand right now, I would hit that smirk right off your face."

He just laughs and wheels me to the elevator. Seriously, is everything a joke to this guy? We safely make it to the lobby and I see my parents waiting by the door of the hospital. My dad is holding the crutches I'll be using. Gaara wheels me to them, but before he goes he adds,"You can thank me later. Feel better." And with that he's gone.

Thank him later for what, almost killing me?

"Here Naruto, I'll help you up." My mother hooks her arms under my arm pits and lifts me up. I grab onto the crutches and rest on them. The pain in my knees is still bad, but not having to bend them is a ton more relaxing. I crutch my way out of the hospital, feeling like death is just around the corner.

* * *

I wake up from a three hour nap and it's currently 7:52 pm. I can feel the drool on my lips and wipe it off onto my pillow. My mouth is dry. I bat my tongue on the top of my mouth to get some saliva flowing. Rubbing my eyes, I struggle to sit up. My knees feel a wee bit better from the chemo. A glass of water, that's what I need right now. With my heart and mind set on getting down to the kitchen, I grab my crutches and I'm off.

Halfway down the hallway I hear my parents bickering in hushed tones. Usually I'd let them solve the problem, but I have nothing better to do and I guess my water can wait. I crutch a little closer to their door, trying not to make them notice me.

"Minato, were you even listening to what Lady Tsunade was saying today?" She hisses her voice low so that I won't "wakeup."

"Of course I did. But, Kushina, we can't just act like he's going to die! We have to be positive for his sake."

What are they talking about? What did Granny say?

"I know that, but still…he's only getting worse. You've noticed it too haven't you? His results are nowhere near where we'd hoped for them to be. If…If we lose him…"Her voice cracks and I'm guessing that she's started crying. I hear some rustling on the bed.

"He's going to be okay. Lady Tsunade is a professional; she'll come up with a solution."

"But, what if she doesn't…and he's gone. Minato this is our only kid, I don't want him to die before me. He's so young, and he's going to miss so much. What will we do without him? How will we go on?" Her voice is shaky and I hear her sniffle. The conversation stops and I decide to just leave and ask about it later, but I guess my crutches have other plans because I crutch back and it's as if I've slipped on ice. I fall backwards and hit my head on the hardwood floor. The sudden impact leaves me dizzy. The scent of blood fills my nostrils and the small droplets fall to the naked floor. I lay there motionless and feel a warm hand tuck under my scalp.

"Naruto, oh my, are you alright?" My mother asks frantically rubbing her fingers softly against my cheeks. I close my eyes and lean against her hand.

"I'm okay." I say after my dizziness has passed me and open my eyes. My dad lets out a breath of relief. "Are you okay to sit up?" He asks bending down. I give him a nod and he gently grabs my back and helps me up. He makes sure I'm safe and sound leaning against the wall before running downstairs to grab a cold glass of water for me and my pain medication. My mom retreats to go grab some tissues and returns only seconds later. I wipe the blood that's dripping from my nose and stick two pieces of tissue paper into my nostrils. The crimson red blood washes away the pure white color of the tissue paper. I pop them out and raise my head up so that the blood flow comes to a halt.

"Honey, what made you fall? Did you feel faint?"

"No…nothing like that. I uh, well I was just going to back up a bit and then my crutches slipped." I rub the back of my aching head sheepishly.

"Were you eavesdropping?" My dad asks making his way up the stairs.

"And if I tell you I was?"

"Naruto you know better…" My mom says a small frown forming on her lips. I laugh a bit nervously, hoping this won't escalate into a lecture.

My dad hands me the cool glass of water and immediately the contact feels so good. I put the smooth pills in my mouth and let the liquid cool my body. It never felt this good to drink a glass of water. I lean my head back on the wall gently and relax my whole entire body.

"So, what did Granny tell you guys?"

I have to know. I don't even care if it makes them sad, but it's killing me that I don't know.

My mom bites her quivering lip. I can see the tears forming in the corners of her eyes. My face falls at her reaction. This is bad, and I mean really bad. My dad takes a quaky breath.

"Lady Tsunade said that we will have to find you a bone marrow donor, but it's very difficult to find a perfect match. It can take days, weeks, months, even years." My dad finishes burying his head in one of his hands. I just sit there dumbfounded. I don't have enough time to wait weeks or months or years. I have two weeks, almost one. My heart begins to race at the thought. One more week, and then It's all over.

"But, I don't have that much time! What if we don't find a perfect match? Can you donate?" I choke out the words. My dad shakes his head and my eyes widen with panic.

All the memories of those past cancer movies flash before my eyes and I realize it'll be me soon. I'll be the one on that hospital bed and everyone will be crying and saying their last goodbyes. I won't have my happy ending, I won't have a happily ever after, I won't and I know it. My eyes fill up with fresh tears and they spill like a waterfall. My life's been a complete and utter waste. I wasn't even able to achieve anything. I'm just a good for nothing.

I stare at my sore knees. The outline of my knee cap is so skinny that the bone looks out of place, it's bulging. My arms don't look or feel like my own, come to think of it, I feel like I'm in a completely different body. I'm weak, helpless, useless…but I'll keep trying. Sakura's confident words ring in my ear and it's honestly the only thing that's keeping me from curling up in a ball and wishing to die.

I wipe my puffy eyes and sniffle up all the snot dripping from my nose. I look up and see that my parents are in the same state as I am. Head in hands, shoulders shaking, and small hiccups. I take a deep breath to calm my pulsing heart. There's no point in sulking and being sad over what ifs.

I force myself up onto my shaky knees. Sadly, I don't get too far before stumbling over, but before my face hits the solid wooden floor, I feel hands on my chest. I get lifted up by my dad and I rest against his panting chest.

"You okay?"

I nod my head and look up at him, then back down at my mom who is staring at me with tear filled eyes.

"Please. Stop crying. You guys will be okay right?" I plead, my own voice sounding weak. My mother's eyes blink in surprise as she wipes her own eyes not realizing that she was having a breakdown. We just stand there, sharing some kind of unspoken understanding, listening to each other's sniffles and breathing. Some kind of understanding, that when I'm gone they will be okay. They have to be okay, for me, and for themselves.

My dad sinks against the wall and I follow down with him. I'm sitting in the middle of my two parents. My mom sinks into my chest her breathing quickening and I feel hot tears against my shirt. My dad wraps his arms around the both of us, resting his chin on my almost bald head. And they say one sentence that lifts a huge burden off of my feeble shoulders.

"We'll be okay."

* * *

It's five in the morning and I wake up covered in my own sweat, my covers damp, and my breathing raspy. I touch my salty face and feel the hot tears slowly making their way down to my chin.

I had a nightmare of my own funeral.

Throwing the covers off of my bed, I reach for my throbbing knees. I dig my fingers trying to make therapeutic circles to calm the pain but, the hurt is like nothing I have ever felt before. It feels like thousands of swords are digging their way into my flesh, like the bone of my knee cap is going to crumble into pieces. I groan at the intensifying pain and when it feels like I'm going to die right then and there a scream of pure anguish erupts from inside of me. My face is plastered with tears, my body shaking violently, the sweat pouring off of my clammy skin.

The door to my room flings open and my dad rushes to my side. I hear my mom barking out some commands, but my mind is so fuzzy that I can't figure out what she's saying. He picks me up and holds me closely to his chest as he races down the stairs. I grab onto his shirt trying to hold onto life, onto anything. But, the creeping of unconsciousness irks its way into my body and I can't even put up a fight because in seconds my eyes are shut like blinds and I'm out.

It's quite complicated to explain cancer, but there is one thing I've noticed. It comes in, slowly attacking you, pulling and pushing you over your limits, and then when it all seems to be getting better, it rushes in, slowly then all at once, and the scary part; there is nothing you can do about it.

* * *

My eyes barely flutter open.

I look around the pristine hospital room and see that my parents are sitting at my right side, holding my hand and rubbing small circles into my palm. My mom is leaning on my dad's shoulder, her eyes closed and her chest lifting up and down slowly. My dad is still awake, his eyes glued to my hand. He looks exhausted. His eyes are bloodshot and his breathing is quick, and then slow, quick, and then slow.

I focus on myself and notice that there are tubes coming out of my nose, which I'm guessing are to help my breathing. My whole body feels extremely heavy, lifeless. I look over at my arm and notice that there is a needle in my vein. I tilt my head a bit more to the left and notice a bag hanging and a tube running from it that leads to my arm. The content of the bag is red, and makes me feel queasy. I look away at the thought of blood.

The room is silent, the pure white walls and floor making it seem clean, but I know for a fact that there are diseases lurking in this room. The only noise distracting my thoughts is the constant beeping from the heart monitor.

The room, although lit by a small light, is still somewhat dark. I look around for a clock. 4:32 am. This early?! What day is it even?

I try to lift my left hand to rub my clammy eyes, but the sudden movement sends pain down to my arm. I wince and my father gets startled by my awakening.

"Naruto," He takes a breath, "How are you feeling kiddo?" His voice is hushed and my mom groans a little as he moves his body.

"Okay." I barely manage to say. My voice is hoarse and I begin to cough. My dad grabs a glass of water from the small night stand and I move my tongue trying to grab the straw. When it's in my clutches I take a small sip. The water feels refreshing as it slithers down my dry throat.

"What day is it?"

"Monday morning."

It's Monday?! I've been asleep for two whole days? My dad notices my shocked expression and continues,

"The doctors put you on a lot of pain medications and chemo. You woke up a few times, but I highly doubt you would remember since you were drugged so much," He tightens his grip on my fragile hand, "The doctors said it was a miracle you survived that attack. Turns out the chemo was too strong for your body and began attacking your actual cells and not just the cancer cells. It's rare, but cancer is unpredictable and every patient has it different. I'm just so glad you're okay now." He finishes and kisses the palm of my hand.

I could have been dead if it wasn't for my nightmare that woke me up. I shiver at the sudden memory. I push the thoughts to the back of my mind as drowsiness takes over me again. My head sinks deeper into the scratchy pillow case and I close my heavy eyes.

"Goodnight, Naruto." My dad whispers and I'm asleep once again.

* * *

I hear someone sit down next to me and feel warmth envelope my hand. I can't get my eyes to open, for some reason they feel so heavy as if they're glued together. I lay there, motionless, waiting for whatever this person has to say. The touch feels familiar, yet I can't recognize who it is.

"Hey, Naruto. I'm not supposed to be in here," She lets out a small chuckle," But, I snuck my way in with the help of Gaara."

It's Sakura. The warmth of her touch and her soothing voice make me all bubbly on the inside. I'm happy she's here, and I wish my eyes would open and I could look at her face.

"You can't even begin to imagine how hard it was to get in here. But, I'm glad I get to see you."

She squeezes my hand a little tighter and I try to squeeze back but my fingers fail me. She doesn't even realize my attempt and continues speaking.

"You know, I'm not really one to get all sentimental and touchy, but for some reason when I'm with you, I feel like I can tell you anything. Is that weird?" I picture her head tilting at the question, that cute nervous smile plastered on her delicate lips, and the crease in her forehead forming.

"Well, I guess you can't answer since you're sleeping," Her voice hushes a bit and becomes so delicate," You're going to be okay Naruto Uzumaki. I know you are, you won't let cancer win, I'm sure of it. And, although this might be an awkward place to admit it, I don't want to lose you. You're the only reason I still smile, so please stay."

My body tingles at her words. She cares about me that much? It's as if cancer is nothing at that moment, it's as if she just makes it go away. My eyes slowly open and I blink a few times to register my surroundings. Sakura's eyes go wide as she scans my opening eyes. The slightest hint of red appears on her cheeks. The room is dark, and I assume it's nighttime. The moonlight pours in from the window and it frames Sakura's face perfectly. I tighten my grip on her hand and give her my best attempt at a smile. The tubes attached to my body are irritating and I'm sure I look like a dead man who just woke up, but her words flood my body with warmth and make me want to live. She makes me want to fight, to survive. I cough out the words, my voice hoarse and not my own.

"I'm not going anywhere." I force my body to sit up and I notice that the pain in my body is not as bad, must be the pain medication. I groan as my head rests against my pillow and my body is upright. My dry throat gets the best of me and I begin to cough violently. Sakura grabs the water from the nightstand and my tongue finds the slick straw. Drinking the water I eye my nightstand and notice that there are flowers in a small white vase with a sunshine yellow border. The vase is filled with pink, white, and red roses.

Sakura places the glass on the nightstand and faces her attention towards me.

"Did you bring those?" I point my finger to the flowers.

"Do you like them?" She asks, fixing the flowers to make them look a little nicer. I nod my head.

"Yeah, they're beautiful."

I grip her hand a little tighter. My eyes trail her hand all the way up her slim figure until they lay upon her bright emerald eyes. The shine of the moonlight makes them look even more beautiful than I have ever seen them. Her cheeks turn a hint of red and she fidgets under my gaze.

"What are you looking at?" She asks a hint of annoyance in her voice.

I take my left hand and gently brush away the small strands of hair that have fallen on her face, her beautiful face. I think I know why, why I stopped caring so much for Hinata, why I didn't bother to pursue my love for her, it's because I've fallen in love with someone else. I don't feel all bubbly inside when I think of Hinata, I don't want to kiss her forehead, I don't want to tell her I love her a thousand times, I don't want to be with her.

My hand slowly runs down Sakura's cheek.

She makes me feel safe, warm, she makes me believe in myself when no one has. She makes me want to keep trying, to not give up. I've fallen for Sakura, I'm in love with her and I can't say no to the feeling anymore.

I take a deep breath and remove the tubes from my nose, and Sakura's face turns confused. But, before she can even utter a word I do something that probably startles the both of us.

I lean forward and gently place my lips against hers. The contact feels right, her lips the taste of vanilla, warm and gentle. My hand runs down her cheek, her slim neck, and rests on her petite shoulder. I feel alive; my body fills with fire that burns my heart, making it dance inside my rib cage. Her arms firmly wrap around my feeble neck as the kiss becomes more passionate. Her fingers run through my almost gone hair, tugging gently, playfully. I let a small groan of pleasure escape, and I smile against her lips.

We pull apart, slowly, our foreheads touching and our breathing in sync. Her eyes are sparkling, and I just want to kiss her again even more, but my breathing restricts me from it. I pull away from her, her warm arms falling from my neck. I grab the tubes that allow me to breathe and attach it to my nose once more. I inhale and exhale, taking deep breaths. Sakura's face falls and she grips my hand firmly. Her touch sends thousands of possibilities through my mind. If I die, I won't only lose my parents, but I'll leave behind Sakura. I don't want to leave her, and what we have. I take in a deep breath and remove the tubes from my nose once more.

I take her hand and trace it along my cheek. Pulling her in I place my forehead on hers and feel her warm breath tickling my nose. Being with her, this close, feels so right. She's the reason I won't give up. I won't give up, because I want to be with her. And I won't let cancer take her away from me.

"Stop staring and kiss me already." She whispers.

I tilt my head slightly and lean in. Her lips fit perfectly against mine. The rush of warmth fills up my body from my head to my toes. My body tingles, I feel so alive.

The sudden twist of the doorknob sends a jolt throughout my body. We pull apart from each other and stare dazed at the figure at the door.

Granny looks from me to Sakura with her eyebrows raised in suspicion. I scurry to throw my tubes back on and take deep and relaxing breaths. Sakura pats my leg gently and scurries out the door; her face flushed, and beat red. Once Sakura is out the door Granny comes over to my bed side.

"Should I even ask?" Granny says towering over me.

I shake my head and quiver at her mischievous glare, but the thought of the kiss creeps into my mind and I feel my cheeks burn up. I felt so different. It was beautiful, different, and right. I shake my head slightly and clear my throat.

"Nothing happened Granny." I put an annoyed tone on my voice.

Please don't ask further questions old lady.

She just sighs and flips through some of the papers she's holding.

"What's that?" I ask, leaning back on my pillow. All of that kissing, although sensational, really wore me out.

"I need to talk to you about your condition."

"What about it?" My voice cracks with worry. She bites her lip and stares me in the eyes.

"Although difficult to admit, you should be realizing that your condition has grown worse, yes?" I nod and she continues," This isn't because of the cancer its self really, it's more because of the chemo. And yes I know chemo is supposed to help a patient, but in your case, it has weakened your immune system completely and it also had attacked your healthy cells, along with your cancer cells. This is very dangerous and so our best opportunity right now is to take you off of chemo completely."

My face falls and all hopes of living are crushed.

"Don't give me that face. I haven't even finished yet. Although taking you off of chemo is scary, it's not the end of the world. Instead of chemo we will have to find you a bone marrow donor. This may sound frightening, but finding a bone marrow donor, especially a perfect match, is very difficult. I will do my best Naruto to find you a perfect match as soon as possible," she takes in a deep breath, readying herself for what she's about to say next, "but, given your current condition, I only have about a week and a half."

My eyes turn the size of watermelons and my blood turns cold. She just said I have a week and a half left of life, and finding a bone marrow donor in that time is pretty much close to impossible. My body trembles at all these possibilities rushing through my mind.

What if she doesn't find a bone marrow donor in that time? No, she will. A deep breath fills my vacant lungs, and I think of Sakura. I have to live.

"You said a patient has never died on you, am I right?"

She blinks a few times, surprised, and then relaxes her face. A proud smirk draws on her lips.

"That's right."

A grin spreads along my face.

Those two words, probably just made me happier than any kid in a candy store.

* * *

**AN: **Heyy guys! Yee so im back with another uplaod! I've been really inspired to write this story, so here it is! Hopefully all of you enjoy it. (yay for narusaku first kiss!) I'm in a rush so I can't blab on any more, but once again thanks for all the amazing reviews, really helps me out! (: Until next chapter toodles~


	9. Chapter 9

_Tuesday Morning._

I wake up and a groan of discomforts escapes my lips. Sleeping was so difficult after what happened yesterday. First of all, Sakura and I kissed. We kissed. It's all I could think about that whole entire night. The feeling of her fingers running through my almost bald head, her lips fitting so comfortably on mine, the smell of vanilla filling my nostrils when our faces were so close…I can feel my cheeks flush and my body jitter with excitement. Although I was pretty drugged now that I think about it…no, I meant that kiss.

The pain ripping through my body replaces my thoughts. Everything hurts. All the muscles in my body feel sore, and every time I move I want to collapse and call it a day. I manage to get out of the hospital bed, but once I try to take a few steps my feet can't support my weight and I fall face first on the floor. The impact makes me dizzy and for a few minutes I just lay there motionless.

Once, the dizziness has passed me I struggle onto my feet. Grabbing onto the side of the bed I look around for my crutches. They're propped up by the window. This is going to be one journey. I let out a huff of determination and put one foot in front of the other. My feet wobble beneath me, I feel like a toddler taking its first steps. I stumble a few times, before I finally reach my crutches. I take my crutches and put them in between my armpits, and then I rest, huffing and puffing, filling up my tired lungs.

I look out the window and see that it's just the break of dawn. The sun is almost fully risen and it shines across the city before me. I watch, as cars pass the hospital, as couples take morning walks, and joggers run past the hospital with intense speed. I feel my shoulders slump. I'll never be like that again. I'm going to die in this hospital if Granny doesn't find me a donor. I mentally slap myself as soon as the thought of death crosses my mind. No, I can't think like that. I force myself to turn away from the window. I don't need to depress myself.

What can I do this early in the morning?

I ponder on the question, leaning against the wall and biting my lip. My legs aren't in the best shape, but I don't want to just sit around and I have my crutches now. My parents are probably at work, I don't think Sakura is still at the hospital, and well Gaara…

No, I shouldn't bother anyone. Might as well just go clean myself, I already took the tubes off this morning, and the IV attached to my arm was not attached when I woke up. I crutch to the bathroom and shut the door once I'm in. I turn on the shower and as I wait for the water to get warm I examine myself in the mirror. The person staring back at me is unrecognizable.

My face is even skinnier than it was before, and I honestly can't distinguish myself. The dark circles under my eyes are sinking into my skin, my eyes look like they're going to deflate, and my hair is almost practically gone. I have a few strands, but it doesn't look good at all. I scan the lower part of my body as I move away from the mirror a little. My legs are skinny, and I mean they look like skeleton legs. They're so small, fragile, definitely not legs you would expect a soccer player to have, seems like all the muscle and bone from my legs are almost worthless, gone. I can't look anymore, so I limp into the shower and almost slip on the wet floor. I sit down on the seat that is in the shower and begin to wash my body. It feels good to be squeaky clean.

The steam from the shower makes me feel lightheaded. I quickly turn off the shower and open the curtain gasping for air. I clothe myself in some hospital boxers and a plain white t-shirt I find in one of the cabinets. I crutch my way out of the suffocating bathroom and crumple onto the hospital bed. My legs are hanging off of the bed and I let them just dangle. I lay there staring at the ceiling waiting for someone to come in. No one does.

* * *

_10:00 am._

I've been laying in the same position staring at the naked white ceiling just lost in thought, when someone steps into my room. Actually two people, my parents. I don't move my head to look at them, I'm too tired for movement.

Long red hair brushes on my face as my mom's head hovers over me.

"Morning Naruto." She says rubbing her nose gently against mine. It tickles and I sink my head lower into the bed. "Hey mom." I rub my nose, trying to sit up, but when the pain shoots through my body I lay back down in defeat. My dad lays down, same positions as me, to my right. "What are you doing, kiddo? Stargazing?" He says laughing and I give him an annoyed look, but can't help but smile when I see him laughing. They're finally not sulking, or depressed. I'm glad they are returning to their normal selves.

"No, just thinking."

"About what?" My mom says as she lies down to my left.

"Everything I guess." I say staring at the blank ceiling. Really, for the past few hours I've just been thinking about everything. Mainly about Sakura, I shouldn't have kissed her; I shouldn't have fallen in love with her. I mean, I may survive, but the chances are so small. If I die, she'll just be burdened even more, what if she falls into depression? I'll make her life even harder than it already is. My body trembles at the thought and I gulp. What have I done?

"You okay Naruto?" My mom asks propping herself up on her elbow and facing me. I replace my grief stricken face with a small smile. "Yeah, I'm fine." I say quietly, not believing my own words the least bit. My mom scrunches her nose seeing right through me. She brushes my cheek gently and sighs.

"Come on Naru-chan, what's wrong?" She coos and kisses my forehead. I give up trying to resist telling her; maybe it's better to receive some advice on the situation.

"What if you suddenly fell in love with someone, but you could die at any moment. What would you do?" The words fall out of my mouth and my heart flutters at the thought of Sakura. My mom blinks a few times in surprise. She ponders the question and opens her mouth to reply then closes it. After a few tries she takes a deep breath and clears her throat.

"Well, this is a very difficult question to answer…but, I would just talk with them. You know, tell them what's going on and if they're okay with being together given the current situation. I'd do what my heart tells me is right." She finishes feeling satisfied with her answer and then gives me a suspicious look.

"But, why ask so suddenly?" Her eyebrow raises and my dad chuckles. "Don't tell me our baby boy has fallen in love?" My dad intervenes turning his body to face me and rests his head gently on my shoulder. My face feels hot and I sink lower into the bed from embarrassment. My mom's face lights up.

"You have! Naruto with who? Is it Hinata?" She asks her voice oozing with excitement. I can feel my face turn fifty shades of red.

"No, it's not Hinata." I stutter out in embarrassment. I should have just kept my mouth shut. My mom tilts her head in confusion.

"Then who?"

"Her name's Sakura…Sakura Haruno. I met her here in the hospital."

At the mention of her name my mom's eyes widen.

"Her last name is Haruno? Oh honey, I was friends with her mother a long while back! She was a great girl, so if her daughter is anything like her I'm positive she's wonderful." I feel my dad's head nod into my shoulder, agreeing with what my mom just said.

"You'll figure things out. If she likes you she'll understand." My dad says and he kisses my cheek.

I just hope he's right.

* * *

**AN: **Hey everyone! I'm back with a new, and super short, chapter. I haven't really been inspired to write much of this story...partially cause school started and I have barely enough time to think anymore. But, I hope you like it, and I'll try my best to write and update as soon as I can! Although, you might have to wait a little longer. Hope you guys like it! :D Until next chapter, toodles!


	10. Chapter 10

My parents left a few hours ago to attend work and I've been waiting for the perfect moment to talk to Sakura. But, frightening thoughts linger in my mind. What if she doesn't like me that way and just kissed me back out of pity? What if she's avoiding me now? This is so complicated. I flip over and turn on my side. Grabbing my phone I scroll through my contacts and click on Sakura's name. The little phone icon is so tempting to click, but my hand won't do it. After fighting with myself for a few minutes I put the phone down and sigh in defeat.

This is so hard. I just wish she would stroll in through the front door and we can just talk.

And just as I say it the door opens, but the person standing in the doorway is not someone I would expect.

"Hi N-Naruto."

It's Hinata Hyuga.

My eyes widen.

"Hinata?" My voice cracks a little and I sit up in my bed. What is she doing here?

She walks over to my bed and pulls over a chair. Taking a seat she crosses her legs and her long hair covers her denim jeans. The scent of lavender fills the room and I realize she must be wearing perfume or body lotion. Whatever girls wear…I wouldn't know.

"I came to apologize about my text the other day. I-I sounded rude. I'm really s-sorry." She bows her head slightly and the tint of red covers her pale cheeks. By the look on her face I can tell she's embarrassed. As much as I want to just tell her to leave and not worry about me I fight against the urge.

"Hinata look at me." I insist and her eyes meet mine."You don't have to apologize; I know that you were forced into it by Sasuke. I get it; you just want to make me happy before I die." Her face turns white at the mention of death and I run a hand down my crumbling face. "I don't even like you anymore; I mean what's the point of chasing a girl who's in love with someone else? That's right there is none." My voice turns cold. Her eyes widen in surprise at my words.

"O-Oh." She looks down and plays with her fingers.

"I mean Hinata, in all seriousness, you never payed attention to me. After all those years of liking you, you never even acknowledged me. I tried so hard to get you to notice me, but you always managed to wedge yourself out of my life. And then when you started dating Sasuke, I kind of became more distant. I figured you really had no interest in me, but I…I still liked you. I tried to talk to you and all, but Sasuke kind of intimidated me," I let out a sheepish laugh," And after that text you sent me…I realized you really don't care about me, in any way at all."

She stops playing with her fingers and looks up at me. Her face looks sad, her eyes loosing the small hint of cheeriness, her breathing becoming quieter, as if she's shutting down and trying to get out of the uncomfortable situation. She shifts her weight on the chair, and I see her mouth opening to say something and then closing. So, we just sit there for a couple of minutes in pure silence.

"I-I'm sorry for causing you s-so much trouble, N-Naruto." She stutters out, her eyes not meeting mine. She lets her bangs fall over her eyes and she plays with her fingers. "I hope you feel b-better." And before I can say anything she stands up and leaves. Shutting the door behind her, I can see a line of tears flowing from the sides of her cheeks. I sit there and stare at the seat which Hinata was sitting on moments ago.

I grab the bed sheets in frustration. Why was she crying? If anyone was to be crying it should have been me. I didn't break her heart; she broke mine, multiple times. I bite my tongue from yelling out and calling her back in. Darn her, messing with my feelings like that. I didn't want to make her cry! I just told her how I felt.

Stupid heart and you're messed up feelings.

I lean back on my pillow and release the bed sheets I have been crushing. My hands relax and I cover my face with them. I hear a knock on my door and groan. I've had enough of visitors. I don't even say anything about letting them in, but someone walks in and their footsteps notify me that they're not too happy. They're loud and stomping steps, usually the ones someone does when they mean business and are looking for a fight. I peak through my fingers and see Sasuke standing in front of me, his eyes locked with mine.

And he does not look happy.

I let my hands fall to my sides.

"What do you want?" I spit out my voice cold. Honestly, people need to stop barging into my room. Don't they see I'm literally on my death bed?

"What did you do to Hinata? She's out there bawling." Sasuke's voice is sharp and his eyes show every sign of anger.

I feel so weak, so helpless. I don't want to fight with this idiot…I just want to look up at the ceiling and think.

"Nothing."

He clenches his fists.

"Yeah right. She's sobbing, you idiot! What did you do that made her cry so much?!" He yells, the words spitting out of his mouth.

I am fed up with this. I don't need Sasuke yelling at me right now. Honestly I thought I was done with him. Anger bubbles up in me. I let him yell at me in school, at soccer tryouts, but not here. He's honestly going to start a fight with me when I'm days away from death.

"What do you think I did?" My voice rises," Honestly Sasuke, leave me alone! You have the girl of your dreams, you have thousands of friends, you're not sick, and what else do you want from me? You're the one that tried to get Hinata to hang out with me, don't act like it wasn't your plan. And I don't need you trying to make my life happy, because I don't want your girlfriend." I'm panting, taking deep breaths trying to calm myself down. The sudden outburst drained me and I feel faint.

"Naruto, I-"

"Leave." My voice is shaky and uneven. I point to the door, my body moving up and down with every breath I take.

"Listen-"

"Just leave me alone!" I yell at him and he backs away. His eyes widen and he heads for the door. I stare at him until the door is shut and he's out of sight. Once he's gone my body collapses and I close my eyes. My hand moves up and down as my chest rises and then falls. Exhaustion sweeps over me like a blanket, covering me from head to toe. A nurse walks in to check on me, but I don't even bother to open my eyes. I hear her flip through some papers, adjust my tubes or whatever they're called, and then she heads out the door.

And lay there thinking about whom I'll see when I wake up next. Who knows, maybe Santa will pay me a visit. This day has been pretty unpredictable.

* * *

_Tuesday 7:30 pm._

Let me tell you one thing. Hospitals suck.

And for many reasons of course, like the fact that you feel like you're really dying since all you do is groan when you move and lay there like a dead corpse. I feel like I'm preparing myself for when I have to lay in a casket for the rest of eternity.

I've been flipping through the T.V channels for pretty much the whole day. After Sasuke and Hinata left I tried to fall asleep, but after many failed efforts I finally mustered up the energy to sit up and do something. So here I am watching a marathon of Gossip Girl since literally nothing manly is on besides sports, and watching sports makes me depressed since I can't do them.

I tried to eat dinner earlier today, but when the food entered my mouth I felt sick. My appetite disappeared after that and so I gave up on eating all together.

Halfway into episode five, there's a knock on my door and the door opens. I figure it's my parents, since they usually come to visit twice a day, but I did not expect to see a certain pinkette walk through the door. She stands in the door way and looks from me to the T.V. Her face turns red and she hides her lips with her hands. I turn beat red as well and scurry to change the channel.

Once the T.V channels are switched to something more manly, Sakura comes over and sits down next to me.

"Hey, how are you feeling?" She asks gently intertwining her fingers with my right hand.

"I'm alright." I shrug and give her a small reassuring smile. "Listen Sakura, how should I put this, well basically Granny told me yesterday that if she doesn't find a perfect bone marrow donor in the next week and a half, it's goodbye Naruto Uzumaki." I finish holding my breath, readying myself for whatever she has to say. Obviously after hearing that I'm pretty much dead meat she won't want to associate with me. She'll just pity me, right?

Sakura's expression falls, but is quickly replaced with her thinking face. You know, the one where the forehead crease appears, her head tilts slightly, and her eyes look up at the ceiling.

"What if I donate?" She asks her voice full of determination.

My eyes widen at her sudden question.

"Sakura, but what if you're not the perfect match?"

"Doesn't matter, it's worth a shot right?" She smiles at me. "Besides I don't want to lose you as much as the next guy. I'm going to do everything I can to help you." Sakura says her voice rising with fortitude. I smile the most genuine and loving smile I have ever given anyone, and squeeze her hand. I think my dad was right. Everything will work out, because she's different than other girls. She doesn't see me as a dying cancer patient. She sees me as Naruto Uzumaki, the weird blonde haired kid who can crack a joke in the most awkward moments.

"Thank you."

And before she can reply, I pull her close to me and our lips touch. She doesn't resist and her body melts against mine. She rests a hand on my chest, it lifts up and down as I breathe, and her other arm wraps around my neck. And in that moment, it's as if all the pain in my body is lifted. She curls my shirt lightly into her hand and gives it a small tug making me lean in even further. It's like kissing her heals everything.

I move my lips away and rest my forehead on hers.

"Is it weird," I kiss her forehead," to say," I kiss the tip of her nose," that I'm in love with you?" I kiss her tender lips. After a few seconds she pulls apart and her hand moves the back of my head so that it my forehead rests on hers.

"No," She kisses my collar bone;" because," she kisses my chin," I'm in love with you." and her lips fall onto mine.

And this kiss is like none we have ever shared before. It's deeper, and says more than any sentence we have ever exchanged. Pulling her onto my lap, I run my hand down the sides of her shoulders and rest them on her waist. She wraps both of her arms around my neck and our tongues dance in each other's mouths. It's like my cancer has withered, all because of her.

We pull apart after a few more kisses and the smiles on our faces mirror each other's.

"I don't want to lose you. You're all I have left." She says, her nose resting on mine. I give her a gentle kiss on the lips.

"You won't." I say although unsure of my own words.

"Promise?"

"Promise."

And even though I'm not sure if I can even keep my word, I'll do anything to see that smile, maybe even kick cancer's butt.

We sit there staring at each other. I begin to lie down and her body follows my movements. Our heads rest on the pillow and I wrap my arms around her. She snuggles into my chest and I feel her warm breath on my neck. Her fingers grab my shirt lightly but firm as she nuzzles her face into my upper body. I kiss the tops of her head before resting my chin on it. After a few moments I feel my shirt getting wet, and Sakura's body shakes. I widen my eyes and pull her closer to me.

"What's wrong Sakura?" I ask worriedly.

I hear her sniffle and she pulls away from me. She rests her head on her propped up hand and wipes her tears.

"My mom died today." She bites her lip. "I didn't want to tell you and bring down the mood, but I just-"Her shoulders shake and her face collapses into the pillow.

Her mom died today? The words "You're all I have left" ring in my ears; she really does have nobody but me. Now I definitely can't leave her. I swallow hard and pull her into a hug. She tries to resist, but I hold her tightly. I feel completely awful after hearing the news. My shirt is wet in an instant, but I don't even care. My lips land on her soft pink hair.

"I'm right here Sakura. I'm not going to leave you. I know I have cancer, and that probably sounds ridiculous given my condition, but Granny is a great doctor. She's been on the hunt for finding me a bone marrow donor for the past few days now. I'm sure we'll find one within a week. I won't leave. I'm right here." I say into her pink fluffy hair. Her breathing relaxes after hearing those words, and she looks up. Our eyes meet, her face covered in tears. I wipe a tear that's escaped from her gleaming emerald eyes. She leans her head into my hand. Closing her eyes she relaxes her body and I see no more tears.

"Thank you, Naruto." Her eyes open and she gives me a small smile. "I'm okay now." She lies down beside me and our foreheads touch. We just share each other's company. Listening to the beating of our hearts, our breathing, and the little heart monitor that won't shut up even in precious moments like this.

The last thing I remember is her lips pressing down on mine and the door shutting as I drift into a goodnight's sleep.

* * *

**AN: **Wow long time no update...heh sorry about that. I haven't really sparked up much inspiration with this story, and with school starting I can't watch as many romance movies as I did before (cries). But, I do feel that this story will be coming to an end soon (?) Not soon soon...but soon. Like I don't plan on going into more than 20 chapters! (But I might who knows). I hope you enjoy this chapter, and in the next chapter expect Sakura and Naruto to discuss Sakura's mom's death, the bone marrow donation, some drama from Sasuke and Hinata...and probably some random thing Gaara does...!

Until next chapter toodles~


	11. Chapter 11

It had been two days since I'd last seen Sakura. The only things keeping me company have been my annoying heart monitor, and my limitless dreams. I remember waking up one morning overhearing a conversation that turned my blood cold.

It went a little like this:

_FLASHBACK_

"_Tsunade, you have got to be kidding me." My father's voice echoes in my ears, his voice sharp and unforgiving._

_I peak my tired eyes open, only to see my father standing, his jaw clenched, hands bawled up in tight fists, and his eyes cold and fixated on the blonde doctor._

_Her eyes have a reflection of sadness, glazed with unshed tears._

"_I'm sorry Minato, Kushina, but finding a perfect donor is much more difficult then one would ever imagine. I just can't find one for Naruto. I'm sorry, I've tried everything possible, it's just too late." She mutters out in one breath, not daring to look my parents in the eyes._

_My mother gasps, her hand flinging to her lips as tears form in her eyes. I feel my blood turn cold as I realize that I am truly dying._

_But, why am I not afraid?_

_My father starts lashing out, completely ignoring the fact that I'm "sleeping" and soon enough I drift to sleep, the word death ringing in my ears._

_Funny how it can be my last lullaby._

_END OF FLASHBACK_

And now I am currently lying in my bed, letting the machine that is hooked up to my body keep me alive. I feel nothing, it's as if my bones and muscles have turned to mush. I feel no pain, yet my heart is breaking at every moment.

My parents are never able to keep a smile on their face anymore. My "friends" haven't reached out to me, not once.

It's like their afraid a simple text or call will burden them with my disease. With my death.

I tried to talk to my parents about my funeral, but my mom started bawling and my dad gave me a sharp look to shut up.

So I did.

My mind keeps lingering back to Sakura. Her kisses, her skin, her breath, her scent, everything about her make me want to hold her, to see her. It's been two days and I miss her like crazy. After hearing the news about her mother's death I've been longing to comfort her, but I can't even get up to go find her, I'm completely useless and I hate it. Who am I kidding, I can barely keep my eyes open!

"Naruto, how are you feeling honey?" My mother asks, opening the door to my room, crashing into my thoughts as they ripple through my mind.

"Great." I mumble, opening my eyes slightly.

She gives me a small smile, her eyes numb and already filling up with tears. My father trails behind her, holding a cup of coffee. He scans me up and down, gives me one of those smiles that reassure him more than me, and then sits down to my right placing the cup down and grabbing my feeble hand in his strong one. My mother puts her hand over my fathers and looks down, tears staining her jeans.

No words are exchanged, because honestly what is there to say?

I'm on my deathbed. I will die here, and it could be any day now. My body is already so weak. Caving in and breaking down until it's just a blob of mush, or at least it feels like it.

I haven't eaten for days, I haven't slept, worst of all I haven't heard from Sakura.

And it's killing me.

Literally.

* * *

_Sakura's POV_

"Mother…" I trail, trying to keep my shuddering voice even.

I set down a bouquet of flowers on the cold stone and feel a single tear caress my cheek.

It's been two days since her death, and I miss her more and more each day. I've been missing her for months, but now that she's actually gone I feel even more at loss. Before I could actually see her, touch her weak and crumbling hands, talk with her even though she was oblivious to whom I actually was. But, now she's buried six feet under the ground, her gentle voice no longer able to reach my eager ears, her soft and light hearted laugh never to make me all warm and fuzzy inside ever again.

I duck my head, letting my soft pink hair fall onto my face, and cry. I cry like a child, a little child that just wants to see their mother. Because right now, I am one.

"I l-love y-you m-mommy." I whisper, my voice muffled. I look up and stare at the gravestone wishing that this wasn't the cruel fate the world laid upon me.

"I couldn't even do anything to help you, to help anyone. I'm completely useless…I'm so sorry." My voice cracks along with my body as I crumble to the rough earthy ground.

My life is a complete disaster.

My father left me and my mother for dead, my aunt is cruel and doesn't love me, I have no mom now, and…and…

My eyes widen, and my tears rest on my cheek. There is one thing this world has given me…one thing I will not let it take away.

"Naruto…" I whisper, and suddenly feel every muscle in my body turn to jelly.

"Naruto!" I shout out, shooting up from my crouched position.

"Crap, Mom I have to go, I love you so much I promise to be back!" I exclaim to my deceased mother and pivot on my heel darting towards my car.

I speed off, praying to my mother to watch over me.

* * *

_At the hospital_

"Tsunade-sama!" I exclaim taking in quick and staggered breaths as I catch the attention of the gloomy doctor whose about to enter the room of a certain blonde.

"Sakura, what are you doing here?" She asks, holding the doorknob to Naruto's room.

"Donate…now….please. "I say, my words coming out in a jumble.

"Slow, down Sakura. What's going on? Donate what?" She asks raising a brow and putting a steady hand on my shaking shoulder.

I inhale a sharp breath, readying myself.

"I want to be a bone marrow donor for Naruto Uzumaki."

Her face falls, her eyes turning so sad that I swear it makes me want to cry.

"Sakura…it's too late, Naruto is already so sick…I just don't think he'll ma-"

"Please, Tsunade-sama. Let me try, please." I say, my voice shaky as I stare into her saddened eyes.

She lets out a breath and pinches the bridge of her nose with her fingers. She turns around, and my heart shatters.

She's not going to let me donate, that means Naruto will…will….

"Matsuri!" She barks out, as the brunette squeals from the far end of the hall.

"Yes m'am!" She calls out; her posture fixing and I notice Gaara is trailing behind her completely annoyed. He lets out a loud and obnoxious breath.

"Can we just go?" I hear him say, as he crosses her arms over his chest and glares at Tsunade and I.

"Set up a room for Miss Haruno, do it quickly."

My heart flutters in my chest.

Don't die on me just yet Naruto, you better not you baka.

* * *

**AN: Wow, you guys I'm so sorry for neglecting this story! I've been so busy, with school sports and etc. Also I've had a terrible writers block with this story, but today I checked my PM box and saw that someone has written to me saying that they miss this story and I turned on some music "Habits by Luke Conrad" (omg check it out if you haven't it AMAZING.) and then I wrote this so...voila! I hope you like it, next chapter will include Sakura's bone marrow results and Naruto's condition some more. I'll add some fluff and stuff but I'm thinking that we are very close to the end with this story...or if you guys want me to make it longer idk I'll ask you once the "final" or maybe not final chapter comes out which will be in 1 or 2 more chapters depending on how long I make them. I'm not entirely sure yet considering my struggle with writing something decent with this story. Idk I feel as if my writing is lacking something these days and it's really discouraging. I just hope this chapter is okay, please don't kill me for not updating as often as I should! I'm trying to get better at it... ;u;**

**And please please please review and tell me what you think of this chapter! :D Thank you all so much for reading, love you guys!**

**Until next chapter, toodles~**


	12. Chapter 12

_Sakura's POV_

Wearing an ugly patterned hospital gown, I lay down in one of the uncomfortable hospital beds in the operation room.

I hate to admit it, but I'm nervous.

"Sakura, calm down you have nothing to worry about. These types of donations go smoothly every time. You have nothing to worry about dear." The doctor says, giving me a warm smile. I guess he notices my squirming.

I nod slowly and try to position myself in the bed so that I'm at least a little comfortable.

Honestly, how does Naruto manage in these things?

My eyes sadden as I think of him. He's on the brink of death…any day now he could just disappear from this world and fly into the next.

My heart sinks and I look up at the doctor who's preparing everything. His eyes are scanning each paper and instrument that will be needed for this operation. I shoot my eyes to the window and see that the rain is coming down harder than I would have liked it. The nurse hooks an IV into the vein in my arm and speaks some soft words of encouragement into my ringing ears.

Everything will be okay, right?

One of the sweet looking nurses comes over to me, she hums a soothing melody that soon enough becomes my lullaby.

* * *

_Naruto's POV (A Dream)_

I'm falling, falling so fast that my body is unable to move.

Landing with a thump, I feel my body breaking, each bone cracking under the hard tiled floor.

Yet, no pain ripples through my body. I stand up, looking around to notice I'm in my hospital room. The darkness of the room sends a rush of curiosity into my bones, and I notice candles illuminate the room. The moonlight pours into the candlelit room and suddenly I feel allured to look over.

I see my parents, standing over the bed their bodies slouched and shaky. My mother is leaning into my father's chest her eyes closed as tears pour down her pale face. Granny is standing by the door, her eyes puffy and dull as if she's died herself. Her whole entire face is crumpled making her look ten times older. It looks as if she's mumbling something to herself, something my sharp ears can't quite pick up.

And that's when the moonlight flickers and shines on someone that makes my whole entire heart stop.

She's kneeling, hugging the body that is lying on the bed and sobbing. But, it's not quite like the sobbing I've ever seen before. She's mumbling to herself, her face crumpled like a piece of paper, and she's grabbing at this person's hands and face trying to get them to wake up. It's like her life depends on it.

"What's going on?" I ask, confused as I walk towards the bed.

No one bats an eye, no one looks, no one even cares.

I pass Granny, who has her head in her hands.

"I failed..." She whispers to herself and I hear small whimpers escape her fragile lips.

I pass my parents.

"He's gone…" My father mumbles into my mother's hair as his whole entire face is soothed with his own tears.

"I'm not a mom anymore!" My mother softly shouts into his chest, and collapses from her own grievance.

Huh? What are they talking about…who the heck died?!

I walk over to the side of the bed, and am about to put a comforting hand on Sakura's shoulder, when I look at the face of whom everyone in the room is mourning over.

It's me.

I feel my heart stop, my breathing hitch, and my legs turn weak.

I scan my pale face and notice that it looks nothing like me. It's crumpled, as if it's sinking into it's own flesh, the dead skin under my eyes is hanging, my eyes are closed and it looks like I'm taking a long nap while someone is ripping my skin away from my face.

My hair is almost completely gone, and it seems that if you run a hand through my hair it'll all just come off.

Sakura is cupping my face with one of her shaking hands as she repeatedly says my name, as if she doesn't say it I'll be gone for good.

From her memory.

"No, no, no!" I shout out, stumbling back and hitting the wall with my back.

"I'm right here!" I yell more to convince myself than the other people in the room. Flailing my arms, I try to get there attention.

But, no one looks at me, they just continue mourning.

They don't stop crying, crying over my death.

My death.

* * *

My eyes fling open, and fresh beads of sweat rest on my salty forehead.

"Naruto, hey honey how are you feeling?" My mother asks me sweetly, setting down her steaming cup of tea.

She looks exhausted.

There are dark circles that wrap around her tired eyes, her hair is an absolute mess, and she's wrapped in a large cozy blanket.

"Good." I mutter out, already feeling gravity pull me back into another sleep. And then panic swoons over me.

I don't want to watch another nightmare unfold right in front of my own two eyes.

"Naruto, what's wrong?" My mother asks, worry seeping into her gentle voice.

I feel hot tears pour from my eyes, and soon enough the stinging sensation in my throat burns. I hiccup a few times, letting the sobs come out of me.

Without further questioning me, my mom gently wraps her arms around me and buries her face into my shoulder.

"Shh, it's okay…everything will be okay."

"Mom, I'm scared." I hiccup and weakly bring my arms up to wrap them around her, but fail miserably.

"Mommy's right here." She whispers and squeezes me a little tighter. "I'm not going anywhere."

I let her soothing words calm my rushing mind and let the warmth of her motherly love fill my aching heart.

It's like when I was little and was having one of those Halloween themed nightmares; my mother would always find a way to put an end to it. Whether, it was just a simple sentence or a warming hug, my mother always found a way to sooth any fears that lingered on.

I just wish that in this case she could take away my pain,

You know, kiss the boo-boos away.

If only it was that easy.

* * *

**AN: **Hey, sorry for the super short chapter yet again...but I figured that I'm really only capable of writing a little bit for this story now a days (oh inspiration where have you gone?) Please review and let me know what you think! There will probably be some NaruSaku fluff in the next few chapters. (: i'm just trying to move the plot of the story along so sorry if these chapters are boring.

Until next chapter, toodles~


	13. Chapter 13

_Gaara's POV_

"I'm just so nervous for both of them. Naruto is so sick, and Sakura is now in surgery…I hope everything turns out okay." A brunette states, biting her lower lip as she taps a pen against her knee. Her eyes are fixated on the scenery unfolding outside, and they are glazed with worry and anticipation. The sun is setting, kissing the warm autumn day goodbye. A cool breeze rustles the cream white curtains in the hospital room. It flies through my hair, sending a small shiver through my already ice cold body.

"Oh, you must be cold. I'll close those." She states, getting up from her chair and rushing over to the window to shut out the cool breeze that's flying into the room. Her short cut brown hair bobs up and down as she makes her way over to the window, she takes in a deep breath as if the cool air will make all of her worries and frustrations dissipate, and then she shuts the window.

She twirls around on her foot to face me, those chocolate brown orbs staring into my teal ones. I feel my face growing hot, and avert my gaze.

_What the heck is wrong with me?_

"Gaara, are you feverish, you're all red?" She asks worriedly rushing over to my side, but before she can place a delicate hand on my head I get out of my bed and move towards the door.

"I just need to take a walk, get my mind off of somethings." I state, opening the door and ignoring her yells saying that she doesn't trust me and to be back soon.

I rush through the white hallways, now only lit by the dim light of the sun and the horrible lighting of the hospital lights. Honestly, I'm already white enough but these hospital lights make me look translucent.

My mind wanders over to a certain brunette, completely ignoring the random stares and snickers from the hospital staff.

I've known Matsuri now for about two or so months, and honestly the first time I met her I literally hated her. She was too sweet, too nice, and I wanted none of that fake kindness. I just wanted to be alone. But, soon after I realized that she was just a sweet girl in general. She constantly cared about each and every patient she received. That same sweet smile curled up on her lips, the same way she would tuck each patient in and make sure that they were all set for the day/night. That same caring tone she used more with me than with anybody else.

She just had an angelic personality that totally contradicted mine. And, then I guess our little teasing games started.

It began when I rushed off that day with Naruto and Sakura, and then I suddenly grabbed that little hat off of Matsuri's head and teased her about it. To be honest, I don't even know why I did it. It just felt like the thing to do.

She threw a hissy fit, and I didn't hear the end of it until I was back in my room and I forced myself to fall asleep. Literally I shut my eyes and pretended that I was tired, and somehow I passed out.

After that incident she had sworn that she wouldn't let me out of her sight, and so that's how it began. I would constantly try to make her annoyed by running around the hospital, causing a ruckus in the lunch room, and this one time I even followed her into the girl's bathroom saying that I was supposed to be with her at all times.

My head ended up in the toilet and she was whacking me with a toilet paper roll.

But, why do I constantly feel like my gut is swirling inside of me, like my heart is about to burst out of my chest when I see that cute little annoyed pout she makes when she's upset with me. The way her eyes soften when I talk about my past, the way her comforting hands squeeze my tense shoulders making my whole entire body relax.

_What is this feeling? Ah, what's happening to me?!  
_

My thoughts are put to a halt as I stop before the room of someone who I've been dying to talk to.

I turn the knob slowly and take a deep breath bracing myself for whatever is going on in there.

"Gaara?" A voice asks as I awkwardly stand in the door frame.

"You look like a dead animal." I state, a smirk playing on my lips.

"Hmph, at least I'm not translucent!" He retorts.

Even when he's an inch from death, the energy from his eyes never leaves.

"How are you feeling Naruto?" I ask gently, as I take a seat next to his bed.

To be completely honest, I wasn't lying when I said he looked like a dead animal. His whole entire body is pale white, his eyes are caving into his own body, his skins looks flaky, and his hair is basically all gone.

But, his bright and lively eyes, and that million-dollar grin seem to make up for all of that.

A soft smile plays on my lips as I notice that he's not completely gone.

"I could be better…I'm just waiting for a bone marrow donor. It's kind of my only hope as of right now." He says, chuckling softly at the little chances he has of actually staying alive.

"You might be surprised, a lot of people came around a few days ago to donate. Results aren't in until tomorrow morning."

His eyes widen.

"Really, who?" He asks curiously and shifts a little to face me better.

My heart shatters as I realize just how difficult it is for him to move a centimeter, to position himself in a comfy bed. A small groan of displeasure escapes his lips and he grabs at his side to try and sooth the pain.

"Gaara, don't give me that look please." His voice comes out hoarse and pleading.

I snap out of it, and instead answer his question.

"A ton of snobby brats from your school."

He laughs, a light hearted and uplifting laugh. There it is, there's that laugh that I've missed hearing from him.

"Snobby brats huh? I wonder if any of them will be my perfect match."

"I'm sure one of them is bound to be."

"Yeah, hey how's Sakura doing? I heard she went into surgery this morning. Is she out yet?" He asks, and I can see the worry glazing over those cerulean orbs of his.

"No, she's still in surgery, but I'm sure she'll be out by tomorrow morning. It's just a donation, nothing critical don't be too worried Naruto."

A small smile plasters on his weak lips. A comfortable silence settles in nicely, the only noise filling the room is the constant beeping of that darn heart monitor.

"Say Gaara, what brings you here anyways?" He asks, a smirk playing on his lips.

"Okay, I think I'm getting sick."

"Wait, seriously what's wrong?" He asks worriedly.

"There's this weird feeling in my stomach, like you know whenever I see that the menu has a new flavor of McFlurries?" He nods not really understanding where I'm going with this. And I'm pretty sure I don't either.

"Well it's the exact same feeling! Like the excitement to actually taste the new flavor, but then the nervousness of tasting it and totally hating it. Although, that's never happened before so I highly doubt it." I stop, thinking of where I'm going with all of this. And then I begin to think of McFlurries and realize I haven't had one since yesterday night and I zone out.

"Do continue." He presses on, giving me a kind of confused look. I snap out of my McFlurry trance and try to retrace my point.

"Well, basically this feeling only really happens when I see Matsuri. I don' t really know what's happening, I told a doctor to check me out but she said everything with me seems normal."

Naruto lets out a chuckling breath and rolls his eyes at my confusion.

"Gaara you liiiiiiiiiike her. It's so obvious, everything you just mentioned! You get butterflies when you see her because you like her!"

Butterflies, what?

"Naruto, butterflies don't just suddenly appear in one's stomach."

He rolls his eyes again.

"Dude, it's a metaphor are you stupid? It means you get nervous around her because you like her. It happens to the best of us, trust me."

"Oh like you and Sakura?" I return the same look he'd given me just moments before.

His whole face reddens, but he doesn't avert his eyes.

"Exactly."

Wait, so this means I have feelings for the brown haired brat?! Wow, my life is really messed up.

"Does she like me back?" I ask, and Naruto sighs once more.

"I don't know, that's for you to find out."

"How?"

"For the love of- Gaara I'm not some kind of love advisor. Why don't you be a big boy and find out on your own?" He turns his head so that he is staring at the ceiling.

"Love should be something you experience all by yourself, no one else should tell you how to experience it." He says, closing his tired eyes and I notice his breathing becomes slower.

Panicking that he's going to die right in front of me I splash some water in his face.

His eyes snap open, and he spits water from his mouth.

"GAARA WHAT THE HECK?!" He screams out, but is too exhausted to move and wipe his face.

"I thought you were going to die on me." I state matter of factly and get up to wipe his face.

"GAARA I GIVE YOU PROBABLY THE BEST LOVE ADVICE ON THE FACE OF THIS PLANET AND MY THANKS IS GETTING COLD WATER SPLASHED IN MY FACE! HAVE YOU EVER HEARD OF NAPPING?!" He screams, trying with all of his might to whack me as I wipe his face and take the soaked sheets off of him.

I laugh at his outburst. Honestly, only he's able to be this energetic in a critical state like he's in now.

"I'll call in a nurse to clean up this mess. And hey, if you actually did die on me your welcome for saving your life."

"You little-!" He struggles to get out of bed, but the minute he sits up I see his eyes roll back into his head and he limply falls back down, his head hitting the fluffy pillow.

Panic swoons over me and I rush over to his side, and literally feel that I killed him.

But, after a few agonizing seconds, he opens his lazy eyes and shoots me a small smile.

"Wow, I didn't think sitting up would take that much energy out of me."

"You just scared me senseless." I blurt out.

I sit back down and run a hand through my messy hair. Gosh, Naruto better not die. Looking over at him now, death is literally lingering over his crumpled body.

His eyes look over at me, but I see that he's trying hard to stay awake.

"Get some sleep, I'm going to figure this whole thing out with Matsuri."

He doesn't respond, but gives me a reassuring smile. I lean over his bed, and squeeze his small shoulders. He smiles, with his tired eyes closed.

To be completely honest, Naruto is more of a family to me then my actual family has ever been these past couple of months. We have a brotherly bond, one that can never be broken. I feel a small smile creep it's way onto my pale lips.

I release my grip from his shoulder, and notice he's already fast asleep. I tip toe out of the room and slowly close the door behind me.

And then realization hits.

That might've been the last time I'd ever get to see Naruto.

* * *

_Matsuri's POV_

"Honestly, he takes a walk for 30 minutes. I'm pretty sure he ditched the hospital and went to some ghetto meeting."

I puff out my cheeks in frustration and continue tiding up his messy room. Honestly, there are dirty socks in every crack and corner of this room, and these bed sheets reek of McDonald's.

Just when I'm about to undress his bed and throw on some new sheets, the door flings open and there stands Gaara. Cars keys jingling in his hand, he rushes over to me, grabs my hand and pulls me out of the room.

"Gaara what are you doing?!" I hiss, noticing that his grip on my wrist is quite strong.

"We're going on a date."

A...date?

"What?!" I blurt out, completely confused. Not only at the fact that we're going on a date from thin air, but also at the fact that he even knows what that is.

He doesn't say anything until we reach his car, where he opens the door for me.

Yeah, right I'm getting in there.

"What are you waiting for?" He asks, annoyed.

I cross my arms over my chest.

"Gaara, when you take a girl out on a date you kind of have to ask her first."

His face falls at my remark, and I notice that he looks around awkwardly.

"Oh, sorry I had no idea."

I sigh. Of course he has no idea, it's dense and spontaneous Gaara after all.

He closes the door, and shoves his keys back in his pocket. I turn around, ready to head into the hospital having my red haired patient trail behind me, but four words freeze me in my tracks.

"I like you Matsuri." He says rather confidently.

I stop cold, still not turning around.

_Why is my heart pounding inside of my chest? It's just Gaara, he's probably drunk or something._

I turn around, inhaling sharply through my nose.

"Are you drunk?" I ask, scanning his face.

He throws up his hands.

"Why are you being difficult?" He mutters, and runs a rough hand through his messy crimson hair.

"Me?! You're the one dragging me out while I'm cleaning your room to ask me on a date!"

"Exactly, I thought that's what you're supposed to do when you like a girl." He says, clearly frustrated.

"Well, yeah but it has to be a little more romantic." I state and turn around once again, but am stopped as a hand grabs my wrist.

"Matsuri wait, please."

His voice is so gentle, so pleading that I can't help but look over my shoulder at him.

Is he…is he blushing?! I feel my heart flutter in my chest and suddenly my stomach is swirling.

Since when did Gaara get so…so cute. Now that I think about it he is rather handsome, has a killer personality, but then again he does drive me insane.

But, isn't that what I love about him?

_Love. Oh my goodness Matsuri what is going on with you!?_

"Let me try again."

I wait for him to collect his thoughts. He opens his mouth, then closes it, and then opens it again.

Finally, after what's felt like an eternity, he gathers the perfect words and spills them out to me.

"Will you be my date and accompany to get the new flavor of McFlurries that just came out today?"

Even though that's probably the worst first date spot, and probably the worst proposal for a first date, I feel myself turning around fully, and heading to the passenger seat, opening the door as I climb in. But before I do so I call out to the smiling redhead.

"Well, if you put it that way how could I say no?"

"You'd say yes anyways." He mutters and smirks as he climbs into the driver's seat.

I can hear my heart beating in my ears and I realize exactly what's going on.

I like Gaara.

No.

I like like Gaara, as in more than friends.

Just how exactly did that even happen?

Who knows.

* * *

**AN: omg you guys this chapter was so much fun to write! I just love Gaara and Matsuri in this fic. (:**

**Well, A lot of you were upset by the short chapters I was posting so I decided to write a super long one. I started this last night, and tidied it up this morning (since im sick AGAIN and am missing school I felt like I could write something and voila this was born). I hope you enjoy this chapter, I personally had a blast writing it!**

**And yah, Gaara and Matsuri will probably be continued in the next chapter and then I'll go back to Sakura, and then the results of the donation...and then we'll see where the story takes us from there.**

**AND OMG BIG THANKS TO "DUH BOMB" YOU ARE LITTERALLY AMAZING. Thank you so much for encouraging me on writing and also that epic McFlurry idea! :D You're awesome, I'm glad I have someone like you to help me out! *sendskisses***

**Until next chapter, toodles~**


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